
-------- TML Message #318 --------

Date: Thu, 20 Apr 89 14:04:07 EDT
From: ("William B. Morrison") morrison@pyr.gatech.edu
Archive-Message-Number: 318


***************************************************************************
** STAR SYSTEM DIGEST: star system generation, storage, and display.     **
** All followups on this topic should be sent to morrison@pyr.gatech.edu **
** They will be edited for clarity and resent to the Traveller Mailing   **
** List in a following digest.                                           **
***************************************************************************

Digest Editor's Notes:
- ----------------------
This is digest #3 in the continuing star system generation saga...
The subject of this digest is a summary of the previous two digests, and
this digest will be concluded with the latest release of James Perkins'
"gensec" and "mapsub" programs for generating and mapping sectors and
subsectors. Also, I wil use elipses (...) to indicate editing I have
done to shorten messages.

        --->>> Help the Star System Generation Digest! <<<---
There is a reason that this digest is a summary of the prvious two, 
namely that the only submission I received since I started coordinating
this discussion group has been James' update. Doesn't anybody
out there have anything to say about what they want in an automatic
sector, subsector, system, planet... generating/mapping system? 

The persons in these discussions are as follows:
      Rob Miracle    <rwmira01%ulkyvx.bitnet@RELAY.CS.NET>
      James Perkins  <jamesp@dadla.la.tek.com>
      Fred Schiff    <vu0141@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu>

All discussion and followups should be sent to those listed above and myself
(Bill Morrison <morrison@pyr.gatech.edu>).

Also, I have a copy of the program mentioned in the digest 1 summary that
describes a planet down to the minutest detail (such as surface temp, stellar
mass, and almost *any* other piece of information you might want). If there
is any demand for this program, I'll post it in the next digest. This
program is based upon real planetary sciences. Here are the estimated 
run-times of this program on various systems:

    2-5 seconds user time on an HP9000/350
    5-30 seconds on a Sun-3/60
    4 minutes on an 8 MHz PC
    7 minutes on a normal PC

                       --------------------
                       SUMMARY OF DIGEST #1
                       --------------------

First Topic - generation of trade and X-boat routes:

There was a discussion between Fred Schiff and James Perkins about coding 
the current gensec/mapsub software system and the problems involved with 
adding trade and X-boat routes. The system given in the ORIGINAL boxed
version of Traveller uses the following table:

>                        JUMP ROUTES
>
>        World   ------- Jump  Distance -------
>        Pair    Jump-1  Jump-2  Jump-3  Jump-4
>        A-A     1       2       4       5
>        A-B     1       3       4       5
>        A-C     1       4       6       -
>        A-D     1       5       -       -
>        A-E     2       -       -       -
>        B-B     1       3       4       6
>        B-C     2       4       6       -
>        B-D     3       6       -       -
>        B-E     4       -       -       -
>        C-C     3       6       -       -
>        C-D     4       -       -       -
>        C-E     4       -       -       -
>        D-D     4       -       -       -
>        D-E     5       -       -       -
>        E-E     6       -       -       -
>
>        Copyright 1977 Game Designer's Workshop
>        Traveller, Volume 3, Worlds and Adventures, p. 2.
>
>The idea is that you have to roll or exceed the indicated number on a D6
>for a jump (aka trade) route to exist.

The discussion tried to define what requirements would necessitate trade 
and X-boat routes such as class of starport, density of inhabited worlds, 
trade classes of worlds (agri, indust, etc.). For trade routes, all worlds 
should somehow be connected (graph theory anyone?) in some manner using 
'classes' of trade routes (refer to the recent discussion in the trade 
discussion group). As for X-boat routes, that is going to be tougher since 
they have more requirements (Class of star port, supporting scout/navy 
base, and that the bases X-boats do connect to have connections to the 
rest of the subsector). Additionally, there is no rule saying that X-boat 
routes have to follow trade routes. This makes the job even harder. 
Both Fred and James thought that using graph theory was the way to go. You 
could have files list edges and vertices and with various programs do things 
like "what's the fastest/most scenic route to ...".  Another problem with 
this is scope. There could be thousands of systems in a database.

The followings is an excerpt between James and Fred on this topic:

>> containing the sector info. But its limited. Where do I put the
>> routes that ships go through. ...in the case of war or invasion
>> or general chaos I think I'd just like to know *all* the various
>> routes through the star-lanes...
>
>Ah... now you're exactly where I've been at; how to manage all this data.
>
>> ...How do I deal with it when I want an extended generation for a 
>> star system (I don't have too do that for every star, just the ones
>> I want to deal with) Last, how do the sectors fit together? Certainly
>> thats not a big problem, since you are only dealing with one at a
>> time usually, but wouldn't it be nice.
>
>Yeah, I've put a little thought into all these.

                      ------------------

Second Topic: Representation of all information in a common database

Of course, how do you store all of the information you've created about your
sector/subsector/system/planet? This database should have a mechanism for
storing any information at any scale (this includes the trade and X-boat
routes mentioned above, and anything considered important like capitals,
megacorps - there is even thought of storing world *maps* in this database
[Ed.- graphical representation takes a *large* amount of storgage space and
most of the system our readers will be using are PCs if I'm not mistaken]).

The discussion between Fred and James went like this:

>> Umph. Could use grid files, but since the maps aren't really maps, but
>> diagrams of locations that might be wasteful... Each star system
>> could have an optional text field for a paragraph of info...
>
>Paragraph of info?  Heck, I figure if someone wants to get verbose about
>anything they should be able to put a whole file of info in on anything.
>That's why I think you should be able to comment any sort of object (Sector,
>Subsector, System, Star, Planet, Moon, Etc.)
>
>Yeah, world maps would be optional, in fact I think you should be able
>to fill stuff out from the top down.  Oh, you want to look at THIS
>subsector? Quick... generate all the systems in it, stow it away.  And
>you want to look at THIS system's extended generation stuff? Quick,
>generate the expanded system data, stow it away.  Oh, a world map, QUICK,
>generate a world map at the grainy level.  This region?  Quick, generate a
>regional map... etc.

James Perkins had the following idea about the data representation:

>Concerning the database thing: not a complete solution, but how about, for
>every system you have 3 files:
>  name.sector (mainworld generated sector info)
>  name.xboats (xboats routes in sector name)
>  name.extend (additional info on world I'm interested in)
>
>One thing we want to be careful to avoid is duplicating information.  We
>should try to work out a single "Key" data item...
>
>         Name.sector     Sector name, Subsector names, and all system UWP's
>         Name.routes     Xboat, trade, and other routes
>        .expand - expanded system data for systems
>        .text - commentary on sector, subsector, systems, worlds
>        .map - world map information for individual worlds
>
Their idea here is to have one file for each sector and for each layer of
detail. 
 
This way, you could tailor the database to the scale an individual group
wants for their campaign. Lets face it, some groups don't need all that
realism, and referees don't want to create places where the players will
never go.  

Rob Miracle also has brought up the point of checking a systems data for
consistency with itself. Has he pointed out, the rules allow you to do a lot
of things that don't occur in the physical universe. Here's an excerpt from
his message:

>...Eventhough, Dinomn (or Dinome) can not exist by the rules.  I 
>am sorry, you just can't have a type 6 atmosphere when you are in orbit 
>one around an M6 Dwarf, even though the rules say you can, it is just too 
>darned cold (Something like 79 degrees Kelvin), Yes Virginia, Oxygen 
>does freeze.

Rob also pointed out that "portability" doesn't mean that everyone has
access to a Unix/VMS/"insert favorite mini here".

>For simplicity sake, we need to keep what ever format ASCII and under 80 
>characters and one line per system, but I would like to code in some 
>orbital information as well.  (My I ask alot).


                      ------------------

Third Topic: Operations on the data in the database

Here are some of the ideas that James came up with:

>We also need to talk about clever programs which operate on the data.
>I can think of lots of programs to emit postscript:
>
>     sector2ps - Sector map of systems, ala the Spinward Marches map
>     routes2ps - Sector map transparency overlay for each kind of trade
>                 route
>     extend2ps - Program to format extended information pages
>
>You'd use the above to create pages for a 3-ring binder, for example.
>
>Browsing programs (ascii output):
>
>        showsub - show a subsector map
>        showsys - show UWP of system and expansion data
>        showsysroutes - show map of vicinity around a system with routes
>
>As well as programs which do generation:
>
>        gensec - generates sectors
>        namesec - replaces "Unnamed" on everything with random names
>        expandsys - generates expanded data for a system, adds into
>                    name.expand
>        genroutes - generate automatic routes
>        annosys, annosub, annosec - add anotation text to the .expand file
>
>Maybe one big master program that gives you different windows onto the
>data, allows selections and operations via a graphics interface on a Mac
>or Sun.

Rob Miracle has modified a program for MT style output. This program is for
sector display. Here's what he says:

> I will probably post my Sector Display program soon. I have to clean it 
> up a bit.  It uses the sector format given in MT:Book 3 for the Spinward 
> Marches. The program reads this file and asks for your starting location.
> It then displays a hex map, with you world in the center and all surronding
> worlds and their UWP.  It then ask for your destination and tells you about
> it, displays any specific data and the gives passenger and trade information
> going to that world.
> Now the bad part, it is written in Turbo Pascal V4.0 or V5.0. It requires
> at least 640X400 resolution meaning you need an AT&T PC6300 or a PS/2 or
> PC with a VGA card.  Do you think there will be an interest in it? 


- -----------------------------------------------------------
End of STAR SYSTEM DIGEST #1 Summary
- -----------------------------------------------------------

                       --------------------
                       SUMMARY OF DIGEST #2
                       --------------------

First Topic - ideas for Database approach for system/etc generation:

These ideas are from Fred Schiff and James Perkins.

Purpose: provide the capability to create any number of systems at any layer
         of resolution. This includes the generation of sectors, subsectors,
         systems, planets (including asteroid belts), moons, and maps
         (planetary, regional, and local). 

Requirements:
          Any of this items should be annotated by the user. 
          Any layer should be optional.
          All data fields within the database should be of variable length.
          Avoid duplication of information.
          Fields should be delimited by a character (a la /etc/passwd)

The following are suggested files/tables for the database:
    Name.{filetype}
        .sector - UWP's, sector, subsector, and system names
        .routes - trade, xboat, other routes
        .expand - expanded system data for systems
        .text - commentary on sector, subsector, systems, worlds
        .map - world map information for individual worlds
        .key - (optional) explanation & code for each new base code,
               classification data and alegiance code used in .sector file;
               used to make explanation key box in outputs

The following are suggested programs to operate on the database:
     Postscript Output Programs:
        sector2ps - Sector map of systems, ala the Spinward Marches map
        sub2ps    - SubSector map of systems, ala Digest Group map
        routes2ps - Sector map transparency overlay for each kind of trade
                    route
        extend2ps - Program to format extended information pages

     Browsing Programs (ASCII output)
        showsub - show a subsector map
        showsys - show UWP of system and expansion data
        showsysroutes - show map of vicinity around a system with routes

     Generation Programs
        gensec - generates sectors
        namesec - replaces "Unnamed" on everything with random names
        expandsys - generates expanded data for a system, adds into
                    name.expand
        genroutes - generate automatic routes
        annosys, annosub, annosec - add anotation text to the .text file

And of course we need some sort of menu program to tie everything together.

- -----------------------------------------------------------
End of STAR SYSTEM DIGEST #2 Summary
- -----------------------------------------------------------

The following is James Perkins' latest and greatest mapsub/gensec
programs. Enjoy!

     *****   *****   *****   *****   *****   *****   *****

Here are two new revisions of old programs: gensec, and mapsub.

Gensec is a sector generator.  The new features are that it's
MegaTraveller compatible, allows you to generate a single sector at a
time, and allows you to specify system density and sector maturity with
words (rift, sparse, dense, mature, frontier, etc.).  It also has a UWP
format compatible with MegaTraveller, with the population multiplier,
gas giant and planetoid counts.  It also logs the version of the format
in the output file, so that other programs can recognize what version of
gensec output they have.  An acknowledgement goes to Fred Schiff for
supplying the changes to this program.

Mapsub is a subsector mapping program.  It takes one subsector's worth
of gensec output and turns it into a hex map of the subsector.  Two
modes of output are supported: ascii, in which the hexes are drawn with
standard ascii symbols like underscore, slash, backslash, and asterisk;
and postscript, suitable for sending to most postscript devices.  This
program has been totally rewritten and is much more maintainable,
readable, and expandable than it used to be.  It can easily be adjusted
to add other forms of output or formats of input.  Acknowledgements are
due to Fred Schiff for supplying changes to the old version of mapsub,
and to Yngve Larsson for the postscript additions.  It also fixes the
bug where the hex staggering was incompatible with the Traveller rules.

I've tested these on a Sun 3/60 running SunOS 4.0, and a VAX 11/780
running BSD.  Make sure if you run any system that uses index() in place
of strchr() or random() in place of rand() that you compile with the
- -DBSD option.  Particularly, the BSD rand() output looks very flaky and
using random() is MUCH better.  For example, an entire sector of worlds
ALL had only ODD numbers for world sizes, when I didn't use the -DBSD
option.  

If you come up with any fixes/additions/suggestions, please let me know
and I will happily graft them in.

Known Bug: The mapsub program produces postscript output which works
fine on a Data Products Laser Printer, but not on a Apple LaserWriter.
Any help? Suggestions?

So, without further ado:

# This is a shell archive.  Remove anything before this line, then
# unpack it by saving it in a file and typing "sh file".  (Files
# unpacked will be owned by you and have default permissions.)
#
# This archive contains:
# gensec.c mapsub.c mapsub.hex mapsub.pro

echo x - gensec.c
cat > "gensec.c" << '//E*O*F gensec.c//'
/*

    gensec - a simplistic traveller sector generator

    Simplistic Traveller sector generator, based on Marc Miller,
    "Traveller Sector Generator", Using Your Model 2/BIS, Challenge
    No.  25; and other Traveller material (Referee's Manual and
    issues of Traveller's Digest.)

    The format of the output of gensec is a superset of the material
    produced by Mr.  Miller's published program.  It now conforms to the
    format in the MegaTraveller Referee's Manual p.  16, except the
    travel zone has been put last similar to entries in Traveller's
    Digest.

    This program rewritten C and Unix Aug 18 1987 by James T. Perkins.
    (jamesp@dadla.la.tek.com, @uunet.uu.net:jamesp@dadla.la.tek.com)

    Additions made Mar 17 1989 by Fred Schiff
    (vu0141@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu) to conform with Basic generation
    in MegaTraveller Referee's Manual.

*/
/*

Copyright 1989 James T. Perkins

	This notice and any statement of authorship must be reproduced
	on all copies.  The author does not make any warranty expressed
	or implied, or assumes any liability or responsiblity for the
	use of this software.

	Any distributor of copies of this software shall grant the
	recipient permission for further redistribution as permitted
	by this notice.	 Any distributor must distribute this software
	without any fee or other monetary gains, unless expressed written
	permission is granted by the author.

	This software or its use shall not be: sold, rented, leased,
	traded, or otherwise marketed without the expressed written
	permission of the author.

	If the software is modified in a manner creating derivative
	copyrights, appropriate legends may be placed on derivative
	work in addition to that set forth above.

	Permission is hereby granted to copy, reproduce, redistribute or
	otherwise use this software as long as the conditions above
	are met.

	All rights not granted by this notice are reserved.

*/

/* System include files */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <ctype.h>

/* Defines for various flavors of unix */
extern long time();
#ifdef BSD
    extern long srandom(), random();
#   define srand(x) ((int)srandom(x))
#   define rand() ((int)random())
#else !BSD
    extern int srand(), rand();
#endif

/*
 * The VERSION_STRING is the first part of the line which identifies
 * what format the file's data are in.  This same string is used by the
 * mapsub program to interpret the data correctly.
 * The VERSION_NUMBER is the actual version number of the data format
 * produced by this program.  Versions were as follows:
 *
 * Version	Description
 *	1	Compatible with early gensec/mapsub program.  Traveller format.
 #	2	First MegaTraveller-compatible format.
 */

#define VERSION_STRING	"#Version: "
#define VERSION_NUMBER	2

/* Local macros */
#define D2 nd(2, 6)
#define D1 d(6)
#define DM(test, dm) ((test) ? (dm) : 0)
#define limit(x, l, u) (((x) < (l)) ? (l) : (((x) > (u)) ? (u) : (x)))

/* Boolean type declaration */
typedef int bool;

/* Variables for controlling generation procedure */
int maturity = 1;	/* determines how well travelled sector is */
int density = 50;	/* stellar density for system presence */

/* Forward declarations */
char *progname;
char hexchar();

/* Machine-readable copyright notice */
#ifndef lint
char *copyright = "Copyright 1989 James T. Perkins";
#endif

main(ac, av)
int ac;
char **av;
{
    int x, y;
    int x_start = 1, x_end = 32;
    int y_start = 1, y_end = 40;
    char *ali = "Im";	/* Star system alignment */

    (void)srand(time((long *)NULL));
    progname = av[0];
    av++; ac--;

    options(ac, av, &x_start, &x_end, &y_start, &y_end, &ali);

    fprintf(stdout, "%s%d\n", VERSION_STRING, VERSION_NUMBER);
    for (x = x_start; x <= x_end; x++)
    {
        for (y = y_start; y <= y_end; y++)
        {
            if (d(100) <= density)
            {
                gensys(x, y, ali, stdout);
            }
        }
    }
    exit(0);
}

gensys(x, y, ali, fp)
int x, y;
char *ali;
FILE *fp;
{
    static char *nam = "Unnamed";
    static int giants[] = {1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5};
    static int belts[] = {1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3};
    char cla, bas, zon, tra[50], out[81];
    int siz, atm, hyd, pop, gov, law, tl, gas, pla, mul;
    bool sco, nav, mil;


    /* Starport class */
    switch (maturity) {
	case 0:
	    cla = *("AABBCCCDEEX" + D2 - 2); /* Backwater */
	    break;
	case 1:
	    cla = *("AAABBCCDEEX" + D2 - 2); /* Standard */
	    break;
	case 2:
	    cla = *("AAABBCCDEEE" + D2 - 2); /* Mature */
	    break;
	case 3:
	    cla = *("AAAABBCCDEX" + D2 - 2); /* Cluster */
	    break;
	default:
	    (void)fprintf(stderr,
		"%s: interal error - maturity out of range (%d)\n",
		progname, maturity);
	    exit(1);
    }

    /* Physical characteristics */
    siz = D2 - 2;
    atm = ((siz == 0) ? 0 : (D2 - 7 + siz));
    atm = limit(atm, 0, 15);
    hyd = D2 - 7 + siz + DM(atm < 2 || atm > 9, -4);
    hyd = ((siz < 2) ? 0 : hyd);
    hyd = limit(hyd, 0, 10);

    /* Demographics */
    pop = D2 - 2;
    gov = D2 - 7 + pop;
    gov = limit(gov, 0, 15);
    law = D2 - 7 + gov;
    law = limit(law, 0, 20);

    /* Technological level */
    tl = D1 + DM(cla == 'A', 6) + DM(cla == 'B', 4) + DM(cla == 'C', 2) +
        DM(cla == 'X', -4);
    tl = tl + DM(siz < 5, 1) + DM(siz < 2, 1);
    tl = tl + DM(atm < 4, 1) + DM(atm > 9 && atm < 15, 1);
    tl = tl + DM(hyd == 8, 1) + DM(hyd == 9, 2);
    tl = tl + DM(pop > 0 && pop < 6, 1) + DM(pop == 9, 2) +
        DM(pop == 10, 4);
    tl = tl + DM(gov == 0 || gov == 5, 1) + DM(gov == 13, -2);
    tl = limit(tl, 0, 20);

    /* System characteristics */
    mul = d(5) + ((D1 > 3) ? -1 : 4);		/* population multiplier */
    pla = ((D2 < 8) ? 0 : belts[D2 - 2]);	/* planetoid belts */
    gas = ((D2 < 5) ? 0 : giants[D2 - 2]);	/* gas giants */

    /* Travel advisories */
    zon = ((cla == 'X') ? 'R' : ' ');
    if (gov > 9 && law > 15)
      zon = *("    A   AA  AAA AAAR AARRAARRR" + 5 * (gov-10) + law-15);

    /* Bases */
    nav = (cla < 'C' && D2 > 7);
    sco = (cla < 'E' && (D2 + DM(cla == 'A', -3) + DM(cla == 'B', -2) +
        DM(cla == 'C', -1)) > 6);
    mil = (cla < 'D' && (D2 + DM(cla == 'A', -2) + DM(cla == 'B', -1)) > 7);
    bas = (nav && sco ? 'A' : (nav ? 'N' :
            (sco ? 'S' : (mil ? 'M' : ' '))));

    /* Trade classifications */
    *tra = '\0';
    if (pop > 8)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Hi ");        /* High Population */
    if (pop < 4)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Lo ");        /* Low Population */
    if (pop == 0 && gov == 0 && law == 0)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Ba ");        /* Barren */
    if (atm > 3 && atm < 10 && hyd > 3 && hyd < 9 && pop > 4 && pop < 8)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Ag ");        /* Agricultural */
    if (atm < 4 && hyd < 4 && pop > 5)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Na ");        /* Non-Agricultural */
    if (((atm > 1 && atm < 5) || atm == 7 || atm == 9) && pop > 8)
        (void)strcat(tra, "In ");        /* Industrial */
    if (pop < 7)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Ni ");        /* Non-Industrial */
    if ((atm == 6 || atm == 8) && pop > 5 && pop < 9 && gov > 3 && gov < 10)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Ri ");        /* Rich */
    if (atm > 1 && atm < 6 && hyd < 4)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Po ");        /* Poor */
    if (hyd == 0 && atm > 1)
        (void)strcat(tra, "De ");        /* Desert World */
    if (hyd == 10)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Wa ");        /* Water World */
    if (siz == 0 && atm == 0 && hyd == 0)
        (void)strcat(tra, "As ");        /* Asteroid Belt */
    else if (atm == 0)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Va ");        /* Vaccuum World */
    if (siz > 9 && atm > 0)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Fl ");        /* Fluid */
    if (atm < 2 && hyd > 0)
        (void)strcat(tra, "Ic ");        /* Ice-Capped */

    /* Create world data string */
    (void)sprintf(out,
        "%-18s %02d%02d %c%c%c%c%c%c%c-%c %c %-15s %1d%1d%1d %2s %c\n",
        nam, x, y, cla,
        hexchar(siz), hexchar(atm), hexchar(hyd), hexchar(pop),
        hexchar(gov), hexchar(law), hexchar(tl),
        bas, tra, mul, pla, gas, ali, zon);

    /* Write it out to file (or stdout) */
    (void)fwrite(out, strlen(out), 1, fp);
}

char hexchar(i)
int i;
{
    if (i < 0 || i > 34)
        return '?';
    else
        return *("0123456789ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZ" + i);
}

int d(nsides)
int nsides;
{
    return (int)(rand() % (long)nsides + 1L);
}

int nd(ndice, nsides)
int ndice, nsides;
{
    if (ndice < 1)
    {
        return 0;
    }
    else
    {
        return nd(ndice - 1, nsides) + d(nsides);
    }
}

options(ac, av, x_start, x_end, y_start, y_end, ali)
int ac;
char **av;
int *x_start, *x_end, *y_start, *y_end;
char **ali;
{
    int sub;
    static int xstarts[] = {1,9,17,25};
    static int ystarts[] = {1,11,21,31};

    for (; ac > 0; av++, ac--)
    {
        if ((**av == '-') && ((sub = (*(*av + 1))) >= 'A') && (sub <= 'P'))
        {
            sub = sub - 'A';
            *x_start = xstarts[sub % 4];
            *y_start = ystarts[((sub > 11) ? 3 :
                ((sub > 7) ? 2 : ((sub > 3) ? 1 : 0)))];
            *x_end = *x_start + 7;
            *y_end = *y_start + 9;
        }
        else if (isdigit(**av))
	{
            density = atoi(*av);
	}
        else if (strcmp(*av, "rift") == 0)
	{
	    density = 4;
	}
        else if (strcmp(*av, "sparse") == 0)
	{
	    density = 16;
	}
	else if (strcmp(*av, "scattered") == 0)
	{
	    density = 33;
	}
	else if (strcmp(*av, "dense") == 0)
	{
            density = 66;
	}
        else if (strcmp(*av, "backwater") == 0)
	{
	    maturity = 0;
	}
        else if (strcmp(*av, "frontier") == 0)  /* Standard - default */
	{
	    maturity = 1;
	}
        else if (strcmp(*av, "mature") == 0)
	{
	    maturity = 2;
	}
        else if (strcmp(*av, "cluster") == 0)
	{
	    maturity = 3;
	}
	else if (strlen(*av) == 2 && isalpha(**av))
	{
	    *ali = *av;
	}
        else
	{
	    usage();
	}
    }
}

usage()
{
    char *usemess = "\
  Generates Traveller sector or subsector.\n\
\n\
  S = {A..P}, subsector to generate\n\
  density = generation percentage or rift|sparse|scattered|dense\n\
  maturity = backwater|frontier|mature|cluster\n\
  ac = two-letter system alignment code (first character must be alphabetic)\n\
  defaults are:\n\
    entire sector, 50%% stellar density, standard frontier maturity,\n\
    Im (Imperium) alignment.\n";

    fprintf(stderr,
	"usage: %s {-S | density | maturity | ac }\n", progname);

    fprintf(stderr, usemess);
    exit(1);
}
//E*O*F gensec.c//

echo x - mapsub.c
cat > "mapsub.c" << '//E*O*F mapsub.c//'
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	mapsub - Traveller Subsector Mapper
 *
 * SYNOPSIS
 *	mapsub [ -a | -p ] < Subsector.dat
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	This program takes Traveller subsector world data and converts it
 *	into a subsector map, either ascii or postscript.  Each subsector
 *	hex has the following data in it:
 *
 *	          ______
 *	         / XXYY \	<- Hex number
 *	        /  * S T \	<- *=Naval base, S=Starport class, T=Tech level
 *	       /  ^ @ .   \	<- ^=Scout base, @=Liquid world, O=Desert
 *	       \  System  /	   world, %=Asteroids, .=Gas giant presence
 *	        \  Name  /	<- System Name
 *	         \______/	<- CAPITOL, Capitol, RED, or amber travel zones
 *
 * OPTIONS
 *	-a	Produce Ascii output, like the above.  This is the default.
 *	-p	Produce Postscript output.  Looks much more like the real
 *		format published in the Spinward Marches map.
 *
 * FILES
 *	This program depends on two files being available:
 *
 *	./mapsub.hex	- contains an ascii hex grid, which is filled in
 *			  with world data by mapsub.
 *			  This file's pathname may be easily changed by
 *			  changing the MAP_TEMPLATE #define.
 *	./mapsub.pro	- contains postscript function definitions which
 *			  are needed to plot the worlds efficiently.
 *			  This file's pathname may be easily changed by
 *			  changing the PS_PROLOGUE #define.
 *	Subsector.dat	- the input file (actually this program eats whatever
 *			  it is given on its stdin).  The format can be in
 *			  one of two formats; version 1 format or version 2
 *			  format:
 *
 *	VERSION 1 format: The first line of the file is "#Version: 1".
 *	Each following line of input is 59 characters long, as follows:
 *
 *	"XXYY System_Name_______ CSAHPGL-T B Trade_Codes____ Al Z GP"
 *
 *	Version 1 is still around, so that data generated with the old
 *	version of gensec can still be used.
 *
 *	VERSION 2 format: The first line of the file is "#Version: 2".
 *	Each following line of the file is 60 characters long, as follows:
 *
 *	"System_Name_______ XXYY CSAHPGL-T B Trade_Codes____ MPG Al Z"
 *
 *	Version 2 supports most of the MegaTraveller changes, except it
 *	does not have the star information.  It is the current version of
 *	the gensec program's output.
 *
 *	Fortunately, if there are a few additional columns of data added to
 *	the right, this program can tolerate the change.
 *
 * BUGS
 *	Ascii output looks passible, but not terrific.
 *	Postscript output looks terrific, but does not indicate world capitals.
 *
 * AUTHOR
 *	James T. Perkins, jamesp@dadla.la.tek.com
 *
 * HISTORY
 *	Based on an earlier program by James Perkins.
 *	Fred Schiff (vu0141@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu) added MegaTraveller
 *	capability to the original mapsub.  Yngve Larsson (yla@ida.liu.se)
 *	added postscript output to the original, and authored the mapsub.pro
 *	file.  James Perkins then rototilled the original program and made
 *	it much more modifiable, incorporating the changes by Fred and Yngve.
 *	This is now the latest version.
 *
 *	When	Who			What
 *	------	-----------------------	------------------------------------
 *	890417	jamesp@dadla.la.tek.com	Initial Release
 *
 * VERSION TRACKING
 *
 * $Header: mapsub.c,v 1.5 89/04/18 11:02:48 jamesp Exp $
 * $Locker:  $
 * 
 *************************************************************************/
/*

Copyright 1989 James T. Perkins

	This notice and any statement of authorship must be reproduced
	on all copies.  The author does not make any warranty expressed
	or implied, or assumes any liability or responsiblity for the
	use of this software.

	Any distributor of copies of this software shall grant the
	recipient permission for further redistribution as permitted
	by this notice.	 Any distributor must distribute this software
	without any fee or other monetary gains, unless expressed written
	permission is granted by the author.

	This software or its use shall not be: sold, rented, leased,
	traded, or otherwise marketed without the expressed written
	permission of the author.

	If the software is modified in a manner creating derivative
	copyrights, appropriate legends may be placed on derivative
	work in addition to that set forth above.

	Permission is hereby granted to copy, reproduce, redistribute or
	otherwise use this software as long as the conditions above
	are met.

	All rights not granted by this notice are reserved.

*/

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <ctype.h>

/************************************/
/*                                  */
/*  PROGRAM IDENTIFICATION          */
/*                                  */
/************************************/

/*
 * RCS id and Copyright.
 */

#ifdef Lint
static char *rcsid = "$Header: mapsub.c,v 1.5 89/04/18 11:02:48 jamesp Exp $";
static char *copyright = "Copyright 1989 James T. Perkins";
#endif

/************************************/
/*                                  */
/*  DEFINES                         */
/*                                  */
/************************************/

#ifdef BSD
#define index strchr
#define rindex strrchr
#endif

/*
 * Modes of program operation
 */

#define M_ASCII		0
#define M_POSTSCRIPT	1
#define NUM_MODES	2

/*
 * Maximum Length of an input or output line
 */

#define LINE_SIZE	81

/*
 * MAP_TEMPLATE is the pathname of the empty hex-grid program.
 * PS_PROLOGUE is the pathname of the postscript prologue file.
 */

#ifndef MAP_TEMPLATE
#define MAP_TEMPLATE	"./mapsub.hex"
#endif MAP_TEMPLATE
#ifndef PS_PROLOGUE
#define PS_PROLOGUE	"./mapsub.pro"
#endif PS_PROLOGUE

/*
 * VERSION is the string which identifies a line containing the file
 * format version number.  This permits this program to parse and
 * recognaize different input formats.
 */

#define VERSION_STRING	"#Version: "
#define DEFAULT_VERSION 1

/************************************/
/*                                  */
/*  STRUCTS                         */
/*                                  */
/************************************/

/*
 * Entry points for different modes
 */

struct output_mode {
    char flag;		/* command-line option flag for this mode */
    void (*init)();	/* ptr to function to initialize output */
    void (*map)();	/* ptr to function to map 1 system's data */
    void (*finish)();	/* ptr to function to finish output */
};

/*
 * What composes a system...
 */

struct sys {
    char name[19];		/* System name */
    int x, y;			/* Hex location */
    char uwp[10];		/* CSAHPGL-T */
    char base;			/* S, N, A, B, or M for bases */
    char trade[16];		/* Up to 5 trade codes, space seperated */
    int pmul;			/* pop multiplier */
    int belt;			/* number of planetoid belts */
    int gas;			/* number of gas giants */
    char align[3];		/* system alignment */
    char zone;			/* travel zone: ' ', 'A', 'R' */
};

/************************************/
/*                                  */
/*  GLOBAL DATA                     */
/*                                  */
/************************************/

/*
 * Usage message
 */

char *usage = "usage: %s [ -ascii | -postscript ]\n";

/*
 * Forward declarations
 */

void bzero();
struct sys *line2system();
void ascii_init(), ascii_map(), ascii_finish();
void ps_init(), ps_map(), ps_finish();
void rem_trail_sp();
char *ascii_center_name();
void ascii_overwrite();

/*
 * The actual modes of output we support -
 * 	a - ascii mode
 *	p - postscript mode
 */

struct output_mode output[NUM_MODES] = {
    { 'a',	ascii_init,	ascii_map,	ascii_finish	},
    { 'p',	ps_init,	ps_map,		ps_finish	}
};

/*
 * program name
 */

char *progname;

/************************************/
/*                                  */
/*  FUNCTIONS                       */
/*                                  */
/************************************/

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	main - mainline for mapsub
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	ac - argument count
 *	av - array of pointers to strings containing the arguments
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	Parses arguments to determine what output mode we're to be in,
 *	then initializes that output module, reads the data from stdin
 *	and maps it into the output, and finishes the output.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	int - but value is ignored
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	None.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

main(ac, av)
int ac;
char **av;
{
    int mode;			/* indicates ASCII or POSTSCRIPT mode */
    char line[LINE_SIZE];	/* stores a line of system input */
    struct sys *system;		/* stores a system, broken down from line */

    progname = *av;
    mode = get_mode(ac, av);

    /*
     * Initialize the output mode
     */

    output[mode].init();

    /*
     * Get each line of output, stuff it into a system structure, and map it.
     */

    while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), stdin) != NULL) {
	if ((system = line2system(line)) != NULL) {
	    output[mode].map(system);
	}
    }

    /*
     * Finish up output processing
     */

    output[mode].finish();
    exit(0);
}

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	get_mode - parses arguments, returns the output mode
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	ac - argument count
 *	av - array of pointers to strings containing the arguments
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	Parses the arguments and returns the output mode of the program.
 *	If no arguments are given, defaults to ascii mode.  If a bad
 *	argument is given, prints an error message and exits.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	int - M_ASCII for ascii output, M_POSTSCRIPT for postscript output,
 *	etc.
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	Uses the output global.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

int
get_mode(ac, av)
int ac;
char **av;
{
    int mode;

    mode = M_ASCII;

    if (ac > 1) {
	mode = -1;
	if (av[1][0] == '-') {
	    for (mode = NUM_MODES - 1; mode >= 0; mode--) {
		if (av[1][1] == output[mode].flag) {
		    break;
		}
	    }
	}
    }

    if (mode == -1) {
	fprintf(stderr, usage, progname);
	exit(1);
    }

    return (mode);
}

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	line2system - parses an input line and returns a system structure
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	line - one line of uwp system data from the stdin.  Or, a
 *		comment line, empty line, or version line.
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	Examines the given line, parses it into a system structure, and
 *	returns a pointer to the structure.  If the input is empty or
 *	a comment line, it ignores it.  If the input is a version line,
 *	this function remembers to parse future input consistent with that
 *	format.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	struct sys * - pointer to parsed system structure corresponding to
 *	the line of input, or NULL of the line was a comment or version
 *	number.
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	Pointer returned is to static data.
 *	Remembers the input version between invocations.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

struct sys *
line2system(line)
char *line;
{
    static struct sys s;
    static int version = DEFAULT_VERSION;

    if (line[0] == '#' || line[0] == '\0' || line[0] == '\n') {
	/*
	 * This is a comment line of some kind.
	 */

	if (strncmp(line, VERSION_STRING, strlen(VERSION_STRING)) == 0) {
	    /*
	     * Get file format version number
	     */

	    sscanf(line, "%*s %d", &version);
	}
	return NULL;
    }

    /*
     * Zero out the system structure
     */

    bzero((char *)&s, sizeof(s));

    /*
     * Parse the line into the system struct
     */

    if (version == 1) {
	char gas = ' ', belt = ' ';

	(void)sscanf(line,
	    "%2d%2d%*c%18c%*c%9c%*c%c%*c%15c%*c%2c%*c%c%*c%1c%1c",
	    &s.x, &s.y, s.name, s.uwp, &s.base, s.trade,
	    s.align, &s.zone, &gas, &belt);
	s.gas = ((gas == 'G') ? 1 : 0);
	s.belt = ((belt == 'P') ? 1 : 0);
    }
    else if (version == 2) {
	(void)sscanf(line,
	    "%18c%*c%2d%2d%*c%9c%*c%c%*c%15c%*c%1d%1d%1d%*c%2c%*c%c",
	    s.name, &s.x, &s.y, s.uwp, &s.base, s.trade,
	    &s.pmul, &s.belt, &s.gas, s.align, &s.zone);
    }
    else {
	fprintf(stderr, "%s: Unknown input format version number %d.\n",
	    progname, version);
	exit(1);
    }

    /*
     * Null-terminate...
     */

    s.name[18] = '\0';
    s.uwp[9] = '\0';
    s.trade[15] = '\0';

    rem_trail_sp(s.name);
    rem_trail_sp(s.uwp);
    rem_trail_sp(s.trade);

    return &s;
}

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	rem_trail_sp - remove trailing spaces from a string
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	s - the string to change
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	eats off trailing spaces from the given string, turning them into
 *	NULLs.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	Changes string pointed to by its argument.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

void
rem_trail_sp(s)
char *s;
{
    int i = strlen(s) - 1;

    while (i >= 0 && s[i] == ' ') {
        s[i--] = '\0';
    }
}

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	bzero - zero a block of memory
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	s - pointer to beginning of memory area
 *	n - number of bytes to zero
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	clears the given area of memory.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	Destructive to data pointed to by the first argument
 *
 *************************************************************************/

#ifndef BSD
void
bzero(s, n)
char *s;
int n;
{
    while (n-- > 0) {
        *s++ = '\0';
    }
}
#endif

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	capitalize - capitalize a string
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	s - the string to capitalize
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	converts all lower-case letters in the given string to upper-case
 *	letters.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	Changes the data pointed to by it's input argument.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

void
capitalize(s)
char *s;
{
    for (; *s; s++) {
	if (islower(*s)) {
	    *s = toupper(*s);
	}
    }
}

/************************************/
/*                                  */
/*  ASCII FUNCTIONS                 */
/*                                  */
/************************************/

char ascii_output[70][LINE_SIZE];	/* an image of the output lines */
int ascii_n_lines = 0;			/* number of lines in ascii_output */

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	ascii_init - prepare for ascii mapping
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	None.
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	Reads the map template into memory, and remembers how many lines
 *	were read in.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	Destroys the static data space of ascii_output and ascii_n_lines.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

void
ascii_init()
{
    FILE *template;
    char *map;

    ascii_n_lines = 0;

    if ((template = fopen(MAP_TEMPLATE, "r")) == NULL) {
	perror(MAP_TEMPLATE);
	exit(1);
    }

    for (map = &ascii_output[0][0]; fgets(map, LINE_SIZE, template) != NULL;
	map += LINE_SIZE) {
	ascii_n_lines++;
    }

    (void)fclose(template);
}

#define ascii_xy(x, y, dx, dy) \
    &ascii_output[(((y) - 1) % 10) * 6 + \
    ((2 * ((x) / 2) == (x)) ? 4 : 1) + (dy)]\
    [(((x) - 1) % 8) * 9 + 1 + (dx)]

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	ascii_map - map a star system onto the ascii output
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	s - system to map
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	Places the system onto the ascii_output region of memory.
 *	This is a terrible kludge.  Depends on the icky ascii_xy macro
 *	which returns memory locations to overwrite.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	Overwrites static data space (ascii_output)
 *
 *************************************************************************/


void
ascii_map(s)
struct sys *s;
{
    char t[80], *u;

    /*
     * Plot each item onto the output image; write hex:
     *      ______
     *    &/ XXYY \        & is where the x, y offset is
     *    /  * S T \
     *   /  ^ @ .   \
     *   \  System  /
     *    \  Name  /
     *     \______/		<- CAPITOL, Capitol, RED, or Amber go here
     */

    (void)sprintf(t, "%02d%02d", s->x, s->y);
    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 3, 0), t, 4);
    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 3, 1), 
        ((s->base == 'N' || s->base == 'A') ? "*" : " "), 1);
    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 5, 1), s->uwp, 1);
    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 7, 1), &s->uwp[8], 1);
    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 2, 2),
	((s->base == 'S' || s->base == 'A') ? "^" : " "), 1);
    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 4, 2),
	((s->uwp[1] == '0') ? "%" : ((s->uwp[3] == '0') ? "O" : "@")), 1);
    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 6, 2),
	((s->gas > 0) ? "." : " "), 1);

    u = s->trade;
    if (u = strchr(u, 'H')) {
	if (u[1] == 'i' || u[1] == 'I') {
	   capitalize(s->name);
	}
    } else if (s->uwp[4] == '9' || s->uwp[4] == 'A') {
       capitalize(s->name);
    }

    u = ascii_center_name(s->name, s->x, s->y, 0, 3, 10);
    if (u) {
	(void)ascii_center_name(u + 1, s->x, s->y, 1, 4, 8);
    }

    switch (s->zone) {
    case 'A': /* Amber */
	ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 2, 5), "amber", 5);
	break;
    case 'R': /* Red */
	ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 2, 5), "RED", 3);
	break;
    }

    u = s->trade;
    while (u = strchr(u, 'C')) {
	if (u[1] == 'a' || u[1] == 'A') {
	    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 2, 5), "Capitol", 7);
	    break;
	}
	else if (u[1] == 'x' || u[1] == 'X') {
	    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(s->x, s->y, 2, 5), "CAPITOL", 7);
	    break;
	}
	else {
	    u++;
	}
    }
}

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	ascii_finish - write out the ascii output to stdout
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	none.
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	writes the ascii_output array to stdout.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	None.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

void
ascii_finish()
{
    int i;

    /*
     * Write out finished map
     */

    for (i = 0; i < ascii_n_lines; i++) {
        printf("%s", ascii_output[i]);
    }
}

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	ascii_overwrite - overwrite memory with new data
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	p - address to begin overwriting at
 *	s - address of string of data to overwrite with
 *	n - number of bytes to overwrite
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	Overwrites the section of memory at p with the first n characters
 *	of string s.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	Destroys memory pointed to by one of it's arguments.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

void
ascii_overwrite(p, s, n)
char *p, *s;
int n;
{
    while (n-- > 0) {
        *p++ = *s++;
    }
}

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	ascii_center_name - place part or all of a name into ascii_output
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	name - name to place
 *	x, y - hex x,y location in the subsector
 *	dx, dy - screen offsets from origin of this hex's xy coords
 *	width - width of this line of output.
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	Take the given name and try to place as many words as will fit in given
 *	width into the map at x, y, dx, dy.  Also center each line of output in
 *	the width.  Unfortunately, a word may be too long to fit, in which case
 *	place it anyway, overlapping.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	char * - Returns 0 if it was able to place the entire name, or a pointer
 *	to the space just following the last word placed.
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	Nasty kludges, beware.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

char *
ascii_center_name(name, x, y, dx, dy, width)
char *name;
int x, y, dx, dy, width;
{
    char *end, *cur, *oldcur;
    int offset;

    cur = strchr(name, ' ');
    if (cur == NULL) {
        end = name + strlen(name) - 1;
    }
    else {
        end = cur - 1;
        oldcur = NULL;
        while (cur && cur - name <= width && cur != oldcur) {
            end = cur - 1;
            oldcur = cur;
            cur = strchr(cur + 1, ' ');
            if (cur == NULL) {
                cur = name + strlen(name);
            }
        }
    }
    offset = (width - (end - name + 1)) / 2;
    dx = dx + offset;
    ascii_overwrite(ascii_xy(x, y, dx, dy), name, end - name + 1);

    if (strchr(end, ' ')) {
        return end + 1;
    }
    else {
        return NULL;
    }
}

/************************************/
/*                                  */
/*  POSTSCRIPT FUNCTIONS            */
/*                                  */
/************************************/

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	ps_init - prepare to map postscript output
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	none.
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	Copies the prologue file to the stdout, in preparation for world
 *	mapping.  This file sets up functions used later and prints
 *	the underlying hex grid.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	None.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

void
ps_init()
{
    FILE *fp;
    char s[LINE_SIZE];

    if ((fp = fopen(PS_PROLOGUE, "r")) == NULL) {
	perror(PS_PROLOGUE);
	exit(1);
    }

    while (fgets(s, sizeof(s), fp) != NULL) {
	(void)fputs(s, stdout);
    }

    (void)fclose(fp);
}

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	ps_map - map worlds into postscript output
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	s - system to put out
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	Emits the appropriate postscript commands to render the system
 *	in its hex.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	None.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

void
ps_map(s)
struct sys *s;
{
    char *u;

    printf("%2d %2d mapCoords \n", s->x, s->y);

    switch (s->zone) {
    case 'A':
	printf("amberZone \n");
	break;
    case 'R':
	printf("redZone \n");
	break;
    }

    printf("(%.2d%.2d) hexNumber \n", s->x, s->y);

    if (s->uwp[1] == '0') {
	printf("asteroids \n");
    }
    else if (s->uwp[3] == '0') {
	printf("desPlnt \n");
    }
    else {
	printf("liqPlnt \n");
    }

    u = s->trade;
    if (u = strchr(u, 'H')) {
	if (u[1] == 'i' || u[1] == 'I') {
	   capitalize(s->name);
	}
    } else if (s->uwp[4] == '9' || s->uwp[4] == 'A') {
       capitalize(s->name);
    }
    printf("(%s) name \n", s->name);

    printf("(%c) starPort \n", s->uwp[0]);

    if (s->base == 'N' || s->base == 'A') {
	printf("navalBase \n");
    }
    if (s->base == 'S' || s->base == 'A') {
	printf("scoutBase \n");
    }

    if (s->gas > 0) {
	printf("gasGiant \n");
    }

    printf("\n");
}

^L
/*************************************************************************
 *
 * NAME
 *	ps_finish - complete postscript output
 *
 * PARAMETERS
 *	none.
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *	emits the final postscript command which causes the page to be
 *	printed.
 *
 * RETURN VALUE
 *	void
 *
 * CAVEATS
 *	None.
 *
 *************************************************************************/

void
ps_finish()
{
    printf("showpage \n");
}
//E*O*F mapsub.c//

echo x - mapsub.hex
cat > "mapsub.hex" << '//E*O*F mapsub.hex//'
   ______            ______            ______            ______
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
  /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
 /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
\          /      \          /      \          /      \          /      \
 \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /        \
  \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/          \
         \          /      \          /      \          /      \          /
          \        /        \        /        \        /        \        /
           \______/          \______/          \______/          \______/
//E*O*F mapsub.hex//

echo x - mapsub.pro
cat > "mapsub.pro" << '//E*O*F mapsub.pro//'
%!PS-Adobe-1.0
% Traveller subsector map and mapping functions

%-----Constants-----
/cm { 72 mul 2.54 div } def     % cm >> points
/unit { 1 cm mul } def


/topOfPageX 4.5 cm def
/topOfPageY 25 cm def
/nameFontSize 9 def
/nameWidthLimit 1.9 unit def

/nameFont /Times-Roman findfont nameFontSize scalefont def
/portFont /Helvetica findfont 10 scalefont def
/numberFont /Helvetica findfont 8 scalefont def

%-----Basic Functions-----
/hex {                             % - >> -
  gsave
  -1 unit 0 rmoveto
  currentpoint translate
  60 rotate
  5 {
    1 unit 0 lineto
    currentpoint translate
    -60 rotate
  } repeat
  closepath
  stroke
  grestore
} def

/rowOfHex {                       % x y >> -
  moveto
  10 {
    hex
    0 0 3 sqrt unit sub rmoveto
  } repeat
} def

/hexMap {                         % - >> -
  .3 setlinewidth
  /curX topOfPageX def
  /curY topOfPageY def
  4 {
    curX curY rowOfHex
    /curX curX 1.5 unit add def
    /curY curY 3 sqrt 2 div unit sub def
    curX curY rowOfHex
    /curX curX 1.5 unit add def
    /curY curY 3 sqrt 2 div unit add def
  } repeat
} def

/mapCoords {                   % HexX HexY >> -
  /actY exch 1 sub 10 mod 3 sqrt unit mul topOfPageY exch sub def
  dup 2 mod 0 eq {
    /actY actY 3 sqrt 2 div unit sub def    % displace column if HexX is even
  } if
  /actX exch 1 sub 8 mod 1.5 unit mul topOfPageX add def
} def

/getCoords {                   % - >> x y
  actX actY
} def

/liqPlnt {
  newpath
  getCoords .1 unit 0 360 arc fill
} def

/desPlnt {
  gsave
  newpath
  getCoords .1 unit 0 360 arc
  gsave
  1 setgray fill
  grestore
  .5 setlinewidth stroke
  grestore
} def

/asteroids {
  newpath
  getCoords .1 unit add .04 unit 0 360 arc fill
  getCoords exch .15 unit add exch .02 unit 0 360 arc fill
  getCoords .15 unit sub exch .1 unit add exch .03 unit 0 360 arc fill
  getCoords .04 unit sub exch .15 unit sub exch .05 unit 0 360 arc fill
  getCoords .05 unit sub .02 unit 0 360 arc fill
} def

/name {                   %  name >> -
  getCoords moveto
  nameFont setfont
  gsave
  0 -.55 unit rmoveto
  dup stringwidth pop
  dup dup nameWidthLimit gt
    {nameWidthLimit exch div 1 scale}
    {pop}
  ifelse
  neg 2 div 0 rmoveto
  gsave
  0 nameFontSize -6 div rmoveto
  dup stringwidth pop 0 rlineto
  0 nameFontSize rlineto
  dup stringwidth pop neg 0 rlineto
  closepath
  1 setgray fill
  grestore
  show
  grestore
} def

/starPort {                % code >> -
  getCoords moveto
  portFont setfont
  dup stringwidth pop 2 div 0 exch sub
    .2 unit rmoveto
  show
} def

/navalBase {               % - >> -
  gsave
  getCoords moveto
  -.5 unit .3 unit rmoveto
  currentpoint translate
  4 {
    .2 unit 0 lineto
    currentpoint translate
    -144 rotate
  } repeat
  closepath
  fill
  grestore
} def

/scoutBase {
  gsave
  newpath
  getCoords moveto
  -.5 unit -.125 unit rmoveto
  currentpoint translate
  60 rotate
  .15 unit 0 lineto
  currentpoint translate
  -120 rotate
  .15 unit 0 lineto
  closepath
  fill
  grestore
} def

/gasGiant {
  gsave
  newpath
  getCoords moveto
  .4 unit .3 unit rmoveto
  currentpoint translate
  0 0 .05 unit 0 360 arc fill
  grestore
} def

/redZone {
  newpath
  .8 setgray
  getCoords 2 3 div unit 0 360 arc fill
  0 setgray
} def

/amberZone {
  gsave
  newpath
  .7 setlinewidth
  0 setgray
  getCoords 2 3 div unit 0 360 arc stroke
  grestore
} def

/hexNumber {                 % (XX YY) >> -
  getCoords moveto
  numberFont setfont
  dup stringwidth pop 2 div 0 exch sub
    .6 unit rmoveto
  show
} def

%-----Main-----
hexMap
% Other system specs  (start with zones)
//E*O*F mapsub.pro//

exit 0




-------- TML Message #319 --------

Date: Fri, 21 Apr 89 09:29:26 edt
From: (Greg Givler SUPPORT) givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
Subject: VEGANS
Archive-Message-Number: 319



I have been running a campaign for about a year, off and on, in the Solomani
Rim Sector. I have been avoiding the Vegan Autonomous Region, mainly because
I dont have any info on the Vegans, aside from the sketchy info in the Sector
book. I have not been to a gaming store in quite awhile, I know, shame on me,
so I do not know if GDW has published anything on the subject. Does anyone out
there know if there is an "official" character generation on the Vegans.

Thanks,

Greg
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Givler                        Q-Link: Commodore
Telecommunications Coordinator     CompuServe: CBM/Support 76703,2047
Commodore Customer Support         INTERNET: givler@cbmvax.uucp
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above opinions are usually mine, but sometimes I just repeat things.
==============================================================================



-------- TML Message #320 --------

Date: Fri, 21 Apr 89 10:13:55 -0500
From: ("Nick Christenson @ St. Olaf College") christnp@thor.stolaf.edu
Subject: multiple mail messages
Archive-Message-Number: 320



I received two copies of must of the stuff you sent out on the 19th.  It
has only happened very recently (last two or three days).  

Hope this helps.

Nick Christenson
christnp@thor.acc.stolaf.edu



-------- TML Message #321 --------

Date: Mon, 24 Apr 89 17:19:49 edt
From: (Greg Givler SUPPORT) givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
Subject: TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.3
Archive-Message-Number: 321



***************************************************************************
** TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST: Cargo, freight, and passenger issues.	 **
**                                                                       **
** All followups on this topic should be sent to			 **
** givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com.  They will be edited for clarity	 **
** and resent to the Traveller Mailing List in a following digest.	 **
** For my benefit, if you would include the word TRADE or COMMERCE in    **
** your SUBJECT: this will help me track these articles for inclusion to **
** this digest. Thanks, Greg Givler                                      **
***************************************************************************

TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.3

CONTENTS:

1. LETTER FROM EDITOR - GREG GIVLER
2. IDEAS FOR SPECULATIVE TRADE - MARK A. POWER
3. SYSTEM SURVEILLANCE - JCUNNING?

1. LETTER FROM EDITOR

Hi, and welcome to VOL.3 of the Traveller Trade and Commerce Digest. Anyone
who missed volumes 1 and 2 and are just dying to get caught up, let me know 
and I will be glad to send out back issues. We are still light on articles, and 
need more input from all over. Before I took over this job it seemed that 
every other article on the mailing list was talking about Trade and Commerce.
Now nothing, if we have covered everything let us know and we can always go 
back to cluttering the net waves with tons of useless information, I know I 
enjoy reading it. :-) If you have any ideas let us know, if they are silly we'll
let you know. If they are good, we'll let you know that too. I am an 
information gatherer, a packrat if you will. I don't want to lead a discussion
that should lead itself. But I dont think that we on the net, who run Traveller,
have come to the conclusion that everything is fine with the system. 
Let's hear what you have to say!

The contents of the digest this time consist of Mark Powers reply to the reply
in digest 2 from Edwin Wiles, which was a reply to Marks original system 
suggestions. I think that Mark's orginal statements showed alot of thought and
Edwin's reply gave very contructive criticism, and added good points to expand
on. Mark has some thoughts on what Edwin said last time. So read and if 
something strikes you (like a 2-TON weight) then get on your soapbox and 
pontificate a bit, (like this :-)

About the Structure of the Digest, I have tried to set the contents up
so that you can use search functions in you respective editors to get around 
the digest more easily. I will have the title of the article which you can
search for or the authors name. That way you can avoid my ramblings.

Greg

=====================================

2. From: "MARK A. POWER" <uunet!asnuab.asn.net!uabmap01>
Subject: Re: Ideas for Speculative Trade

My original remarks (from Digest #1) are quoted as
'>>', Ed's comments are marked '>'.

Before my detailed response, I'd like to say one of my biggest
complaints with both the Book 2 and Merchant Prince/MegaTraveller
systems is the that both are exercises in rolling dice -- there is not
much call for role-playing in the process.  Adding steps where the
referee could slip in an adventure, and in general keep the players on
their toes, could only help.

			Mark

>> PURCHASING
>> ------------
>> 4) Contact owner (or agent) and haggle over price.
>
> I don't know.  I've never been one to enjoy haggling over price, ...
[stuff edited - Greg]

I agree this step should be at the players option.  My idea was to add
an opportunity for role-playing into the process, as well as a place
to use that Broker-3.  If the players don't have anyone with suitable
skills, they might be best to skip this.  

Re: Bidding.  I don't have any other player ships around.  I think it
would be adequate to play the NPC's intelligently.  If the players are
prepared to buy a cargo at Cr 10,000 per ton, knowing they have a good
chance to sell it J-1 away at Cr 25,000 per ton, then it is probable
that another captain will be willing to pay Cr 15,000 per ton.  The
main purpose of this is to adjust for unusual conditions, and to
attempt to reflect market forces.  Perhaps the referee could generate 
a random ship type for the competitors, and range of available capital 
for each type.  This would give you a general idea of their resources,
and give the players a chance to make those large profits, without
losing to some clown with an unlimited bank account.

>> 6) Determine delivery date.  Allow rush delivery at [some premium]

This is one of the few good ideas I stole from MegaTraveller.  I
believe MT gives a standard delivery date as 4 days from the date of
the purchase.

> Rush delivery?  

> About delivery dates:
>     - Roll for the 'expected delivery date'.
>     - [ Allow captain to specify rush delivery, at price.  Allow
>         chance of seller telling captain to stuff it. ]
>     - ...Allow captain to ask for 'Delayed Delivery' [at no penalty].

Note that it if the cargo is sitting in a warehouse, it is to the seller's 
benifit to deliver it ASAP - warehouse space costs money!  If he is
waiting on delivery himself, it's a different matter.  I do like the
way of handling perishables.

>     - Roll for the 'actual delivery date' which should be a "bell curve"

Overall, I like this.  I think this would be a good place to start.

>> SALE
>> ------------
>> 1) Find a buyer.
> Depends!  On some worlds, ... 

Hmm....  I've been assuming we would produce a system optimized for
small ships - free traders, 400-ton subsidized merchants, and so on,
though workable for larger ships.  I would think that, while factors
might be waiting when you arrive, he'd be interested in a commission,
not in purchasing your (rather small) cargo.  Another factor (:-) is
role-playing -- I see this as another opportunity for role-playing, as
well as one for starting adventures.  If the players never have to leave
the ship, it's a lot more difficult to get them in trouble.  Comments,
anyone?

>> 2) Determine base offering price.

> I should think that the captain/owner would have a great deal to say about
> how much he'd sell his cargo for!

Sure, he'd have final say on how much he'll sell for; he just doesn't
have any say over how much he's offered.

>> 3) Select buyer and negotiate price.  See step 4 above.
> 
> ...Perhaps there are multiple buyers present and willing to bid?

Seems reasonable.

>> 4) Decide to sell or not.
>
[ Good details on auctions omitted...]
> Attempting to run an auction on your own, on a mid to high population world,
> is virtually guaranteed to get a captain/owner in trouble....

There's the sort of thing I like to see -- something to provide some
variety.

>> 5) Deliver as appropriate.
>
> [ More excellent ideas ommitted ]

I wouldn't use this very often - just enough to keep things interesting.


Mark

=========================================

3. From: uunet!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!gslisa!gsliss!jcunning
Subject: System Surveillance
Cc: danilenk@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu

[editors note: I didn't know who to give credit to this article to, 
but I am including it anyway. This may not seem like a Trade and Commerce
discussion, but I think it applies. Basically the question is this, how
do you determine how well a star system is patrolled, and how fast help
will arrive to a distress call. I have it suit my needs, in other words if
the players look like they NEED help, it arrives just in the nick of time. 
If they are doing OK without "my" help then they won't get it. Conversely
what if you have a group that is getting into pirating, my present group is
leaning that way, how do you handle it when the good guys are now the bad guys!
If you think this article is way off line let me know and I wont go off on a
tangent grasping at straws. Let me know what you think.]

I am in the process of writing an adventure for Digest Group
which deals with ship operations in the Old Expanses sector,
my old High Passage stomping ground, which is now under
Solmani control. I would like some opinions as to how difficult
it would be to operate a ship in the system without being
detected. Part of this is solved by having only a small occupation
force in the system (how convenient!), and certain areas (such as
the main world and gas giants) would be impossible to get near
without being detected. The question is how much of the system
is being watched. Is there a sort of equivalent to the current
air traffic control system? How easy would it be for the Solomani to
set up such a system? Any ideas?

=====================================

END OF DIGEST VOL.3

==============================================================================
TRADE AND COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.3       | ****This*SPACE*intentionally*left****
Greg Givler, Editor 		      |	*************************************
James Perkins, List Administrator     | ************FULL*OF*STARS************
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send replies to: givler@cbmvax.uucp or givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
==============================================================================




-------- TML Message #322 --------

Date: Mon, 24 Apr 89 13:05:52 -0500
From: uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!gslisa!gsliss!jcunning@tektronix
Subject: vegans
Archive-Message-Number: 322





See supplement 11, Library Data N-Z for more info on the Vegans. No character
generation is provided, but it will give you some background on them and
provides you with a couple of drawings of them. At one time Andy Keith was
going to be writing some stuff about them in a boxed module on how to
create your own minor race as well as background on minor races mentioned 
until that time (which was around 1983. Needless to say, the project was
never developed, and GDW dropped the boxed module format due to lack of
sales.





-------- TML Message #323 --------

From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.uu.net!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix
Subject: Vegans
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 89 9:48:44 BST
Archive-Message-Number: 323


givler@cbmvax.uucp writes:

>I have been running a campaign for about a year, off and on, in the Solomani
>Rim Sector. I have been avoiding the Vegan Autonomous Region, mainly because
>I dont have any info on the Vegans, aside from the sketchy info in the Sector
>book.

There is a little more information on the Vegans in the GDW supplement "Library
Data N-Z". It contains the same information as in the Sector book (I assume
that this is the GDW supplement "The Solomani Rim"), plus enough biological
stuff to give you the skill Vegan Medic-1. Having said that, I found the
"sketchy" info sufficient to allow human characters to wander around, although
I can't generate Vegan NPC's except by using human tables. Still, the Alien
Module character generation tables are virtually identical to the human ones.




-------- TML Message #324 --------

Date: Wed, 26 Apr 89 13:50:59 -0500
From: uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!gslisa!gsliss!jcunning@tektronix
Subject: Megatraveller ships
Archive-Message-Number: 324




Does anyone out there feel that the Megatraveller ship design system
actually works? In the process of writing the adventure for Traveller's
Digest, I finally had to learn the new systems for design and combat.
I hate to say it, but I don't like them. Call me a relic from the
old Traveller days. I don't care. I think that a) the rules need to be
edited and text added to explain the design process and b) the added
complexity is not worth the added realism. I think that grafting on the
sensor rules onto High Guard and cleaning up the combat system would
have been a much better way to go. 

As a result of all this, I think that I will henceforth playtest the
adventure using old Traveller and then convert it into Megatraveller
for publication. Opinions?

By the way, has anyone out there converted the 200 ton Solomani patrol
frigate (or some such type) into Megatraveller from Alien Module 6?


				Jim Cunningham
				Traveller Relic






-------- TML Message #325 --------

Date: Thu, 27 Apr 89 01:35:21 edt
From: (Greg Givler SUPPORT) givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
Subject: Re:  Vegans
Archive-Message-Number: 325



I want to thank those who replied to my plea for aid. Looks like I will have
to dig up supplement Library Data N-Z. BTW, if any one is interested in a
PC generation of Vegans, I will be working on one in the near future. If 
any of you have any ideas please dump them my way. 

Greg

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Givler                        Q-Link: Commodore
Telecommunications Coordinator     CompuServe: CBM/Support 76703,2047
Commodore Customer Support         INTERNET: givler@cbmvax.uucp
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above opinions are usually mine, but sometimes I just repeat things.
==============================================================================


-------- TML Message #326 --------

Date: Thu, 27 Apr 89 10:21:50 EDT
From: (Arturo Perez x3239) perez@qm7503.genrad.com
Subject: MegaTraveller Ship Design
Archive-Message-Number: 326


from UXC.CSO.UIUC.EDU::danilenk 
>Does anyone out there feel that the Megatraveller ship design system
>actually works? In the process of writing the adventure for Traveller's
>Digest, I finally had to learn the new systems for design and combat.
>I hate to say it, but I don't like them. Call me a relic from the
>old Traveller days. I don't care. I think that a) the rules need to be
>edited and text added to explain the design process 

I agree.  In order to create a large merchant ship I spent 2-3 days poring
over that information.  At the end, I got a useable ship but I find that
it has quirks in that I made it more powerful than any merchant ship has
any right to be.  Guidelines along "this constitutes a merchant", "this
constitutes a pirate corsair", "this is a blockade ship", etc would be
nice.

It would also be nice if, for interior design, there were some templates
for the engines, jump drives etc.

>and b) the added
>complexity is not worth the added realism. I think that grafting on the
>sensor rules onto High Guard and cleaning up the combat system would
>have been a much better way to go. 
>

Well, I don't mind the complexity as long as it isn't something you
have to do on the spur of the moment.  Imagine trying to do it while
adventuring :-)   I haven't tried the combat yet.  What is it like?

>As a result of all this, I think that I will henceforth playtest the
>adventure using old Traveller and then convert it into Megatraveller
>for publication. Opinions?

My gut feeling is that it will be painful.  I am currently running
"Murder on Acturus Station" as a MT adventure and it took too long
to map the Traveller descriptions, needed rolls, etc into MT tasks
and so forth.
>				Jim Cunningham
>				Traveller Relic

Arturo Perez



-------- TML Message #327 --------

Date: Thu, 27 Apr 89 09:49:22 PDT
From: (Brad Post) c9c-aa@dorothy.berkeley.edu
Subject: PBM: Turn 11
Archive-Message-Number: 327




First off, I banged this turn out real quick.  I'm sorry for the typos, and
the format, I think it could be better.
But it's got lot's of excitement, so onto the turn.

- -------------------

Here is turn 11, it's short and to the point.

*******************************************************************************
				Notes
*******************************************************************************

1) Well I'm now only going to have 2 parts to the postings, a notes section
  and a move section, it's easier I think.

2) No one has mentioned what they wanted to do about the summer, except Mike, 
  please tell me, so I can figure out something.

3) Kurt missed this turn, so I made up his move.

*******************************************************************************
				Move
*******************************************************************************

	You all meet in the common room, the captain is looking a bit tired, and
suggests that everyone break for dinner.  You all then realize what time it is,
and comply.  Dan and Charlie come out for dinner too, and everyone discusses 
what you have all learned.
	"Yurl Hagard, hmmm, it's been a while since I've heard that name," says
the captain.
	"Do you think it's true?" asks Erekosse.
	"With all that's happen, I doubt it, whoever these chumps are, they've
aparently done their homework.  Yurl Hagard murdered my boss, Jan Morrison
the original owner of the Ulysses.  Yurl killed his wife, and we heard that he
was on Regina.  Jan was told that he could find a guy who knew where to find
Yurl in the Merc Hangout," says the captain.
	"Merc Hangout huh," says Erc,"tough place."
	"You bet," says Steve.
	"Never had the pleasure," responds Samantha.
	"Well anyway, Jan gets shot by a cop for carrying an illegal firearm,
and the ship was turned over to me.  It was in the news, so they could be just 
messing with our minds.  I thinks it's time to blow this thing so out of
control, we find out the real truth, eh," says the captain.
	"What do you plan to do," asks Dan.
	"It's more like we," says the captain, as he motions to all the people
at the table.  "First off, I'm going to tell Hubert, Moe, and Curly that I'm 
opening the crate.  Second, Erc and Steve will stay up here to guard them.  
Dan, Charlie and Samantha will try and get that crate open, with Erekosse 
watching them from a distance, just in case anything dangerous is in that crate.
And I will be both upstairs and down, just to watch and check up on you guys."
	"Sounds good to me," says Erekosse.
	"Great, when do we start?" asks Steve.
	"Tomorrow morning, after we tell them tonight.  I figure we let them 
think about it, and before our experts get to work, give them one last chance."
	"We'll get our stuff ready," says Charlie, and he and Dan leave the
table after putting their plates away.  The rest of you finish your meals and
the captain asks both Erc and Steve to come with him.  They enter Moe and 
Curly's stateroom, and leave a few minutes later, Moe and Curly can both be 
heard cussing.  They enter Huberts room and are out in the same amout of time.
	Steve says to the captain, "He was quite calm about that wasn't he?"
	"Yeah, too calm," says Erc.
	"Well then, we'll just open it and see," says the captain, a smile is 
forming on his lips.
	Dan and Charlie stay up late that night, with the captains permission, 
and assemble as much knowledge as they can on the type of lock that is on the
crate.  
	
	Samantha is the first one up, and she finds both Dan and Charlie asleep
on the G-cushions.  She makes some coffee, and offers it to them.  They both 
wake up grudgingly, accept the coffee, and say thanks.  They then excuse 
themselves and go take showers in their stateroom.
	The rest of you come out and find the captain and Erekosse and Samantha
eating breakfast.  The captain says to you all, "We're not going to ask them
again, I just want that crate open.  When Dan and Charlie finish eating, we're
doing it."
	Dan and Charlie come out, they are dressed in 'work' clothes.  They eat
and after they are done, gather their tools and follow Erekosse and Samantha
downstairs.  They get to the crate and ask Samantha if she could just pass them
tools.  She says, no problem and sets up things behind them.  They work at a 
slow pace, taking time, dismantling the pad, they point out to each other where
Erc had tampered with the pad, and if anything was broken.  They work for about
4 hours and stop.  Lunch is brought down by the captain, and everyone eats.
	The guys upstairs are having no problems whatsoever.  They eat lunch and
are fully alert to everything.  The captain is looking slightly nervous, as he
eats his lunch, he says it's nothing, but it's apparent to Steve and Erc that
something is bugging him.

	After lunch is done, Dan and Charlie say that they are almost ready to 
open the crate, they ask if Samantha could spare he hands, because they need
the extra set.  She complies, and they have her hold a set of wires, that they
have attached to the door of the crate, they say it will only open three-fourths
of the way and she should hold the wires to the door at all times.  They tell
Erekosse that they are ready to open the door, and he radios the captain.  They
count to three and the door slowly opens.  Samantha follows the door as it opens
and when it stops she notices the sound of breathing coming from inside the 
crate.  She pears inside, curiousity getting the best of her, and she sees a 
smiling face and hears a car backfire.
	Erekosse is startled for a second as he hears a gunshot and sees 
Samantha fly back and hit a crate.  Dan and Charlie hit the floor ....

	Upstairs the gunshot is heard and everyone is distracted for a split
second, just as they all turn back, they see Hubert's door opening and Moe and
Curly's too.  A desk comes out of Curly's room with Moe right behind, Hubert 
hits the floor, they all have guns.  Steve flips the dinner table over and 
manuevers a chair to help give cover.  Erc dives behind the table, and Captain
Moray gets behind a wall.  The firefight has begun ....

**********
Just when you thought you knew it all, huh.

Responses due by 5-8-89.

NOTE:  all materials are copyrighted, Brad Post circa 1989, any use of these 
materials without the author's consent are a felony.

********************************************************************************
    __-,                               ___ _________
 __(__)|___                    _______/   |________|          "This is where
`----------|_______________---/       `----_____|___           you are supposed
 (      ___+-----------------<---------_____________-----_  <------ to aim,
  `-----                      `-----------'      |  +---_/      right up their
                                            ____/__/___/_____      shaft!"
 Brad Post: bpost@violet.Berkeley.Edu      |   ======        ||
            ...ucbvax!violet!bpost         |_________________||

*******************************************************************************





-------- TML Message #328 --------

Date: Thu, 27 Apr 89 02:23:59 edt
From: (Greg Givler SUPPORT) givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
Subject: Re:  Megatraveller ships
Archive-Message-Number: 328


>Does anyone out there feel that the Megatraveller ship design system
>actually works? 
>but I don't like them. Call me a relic from the
>old Traveller days. I don't care. I think that a) the rules need to be
>edited and text added to explain the design process and b) the added
>complexity is not worth the added realism. I think that grafting on the
>sensor rules onto High Guard and cleaning up the combat system would
>have been a much better way to go. 

I dont really care for MegaTraveller that much, although I like the task 
system to handle things that aren't in the rules I tend to use the 8+ die
roll modified by whatever it needs to modify it. I digress, sorry, back to
the original question, I dont really know if all the detail in MegaTraveller
is going to make me a better GM. All of a sudden just getting to jump point
takes 15 min. of game time. And how do you handle blown rolls?

My problem with the starship construction rules is that I was a Music
major in college, no a Science major. It takes a lot more math than I ever
want to get involved with voluntarily, to design a ship, and the erratta
doesn't exactly make life easier. I still get more of a charge of blowing
them up than in building them. 

	
>As a result of all this, I think that I will henceforth playtest the
>adventure using old Traveller and then convert it into Megatraveller
>for publication. Opinions?

I personally find old Traveller easier to GM for my style of play. But I 
do admit to not being a real detail oriented GM. I also, think I am to
nice to my players, I have trouble giving them trouble. Although they are in
for a surprise once they get back to their ship. :-D

Anyway I must apologize, seem to have veered far of course on this one, 
but how do you handle a bunch of adventurers that are about to enter a life 
of crime, and start pirating starships. Do you let them get themselves killed,
or do you let it lead where it may and the Devil be damned?

Greg
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Givler                        Q-Link: Commodore
Telecommunications Coordinator     CompuServe: CBM/Support 76703,2047
Commodore Customer Support         INTERNET: givler@cbmvax.uucp
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above opinions are usually mine, but sometimes I just repeat things.
==============================================================================



-------- TML Message #329 --------

Date: Sat, 29 Apr 89 00:01 PST
From: ("Scott, part time fuzzy") SELLSWORTH%HMCVAX.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu
Subject: A few foulups
Archive-Message-Number: 329



  Call this letter a kind of mixed bag...

  1.  You folks working on system generation:I love it.  I have no real
contributions to add since James' programs do more than the ones I wrote for
my own use ever did.  I look forward to whatever you folks come up with.

  2.  I approve of the trade journal.  The only comment I have is related to
tech level.  There needs to be some alterations in how tech level works for
equipment availability and such.  See the rest of the post for general ideas.

  3.  Ship contruction is fatally flawed from a physics point of view.  I
realize that this is a role playing game, and so will not be perfect, but there
are some real bugs...

  First off, antimatter power plants should produce about a million times the
power that they do for a given amount of fuel.  I think fusion plants are off
by about five orders of magnitude.  I am not sure about the others.  I am
debating making the antimatter change, but I really do not want to start
mucking with the fusion rules.

  Second, nobody in thier right mind would want to put a disitegrator on a
small ship.

  Third, why on earth don't jump units get smaller or cheaper with tech level
rise?  Likewise for thrusters.  I somehow fail to believe that the technology
is perfect at TL 12.

  4.  Equipment rules are flawed in many of the same ways.  The econmic system
makes next to no sense.  Given that he wanted to create trade between various
tech levels, an unlikely proposition at best, he should have dealt with tech
level changes better.  I therefore propose the following ground rules for
technology.

- ------------------------

  The typical credit referred to is the official currency of the Imperium,
backed by the TAS and the banking megacorporations.  This allows it to be a
good stable currency.  To convert to local currency, use the tables in Striker
or TCS.  I can type these in if needed.  Local currency _ONLY_ matters if one
wants to figure out how the standard of living relates to the standard of
living among the interstellar culture.  All transactions are usually carried
out in Imperial credits.

  Equipment will get cheaper by approx. 10% per tech level.  Thus, making a
TL 5 car at TL 9 should cost you .9^4 or 63% or the TL 9 cost.  Note that this
makes TL 12 merchant ships dirt cheap by TL 15.  Why are the space lanes not
full of these critters?  Because the TL 15 starport is swamped with offers to
build TL 15 craft at full price.

  Now, as TL rises, the functionality will increase by about 10-20% per tech
level.  In some cases, such as space technology or computers, the rise is much,
much more.  For these, I use about an order of magnitude for each 1-3 tech
levels depending on the effects I want to get out of the equipment.

  Finally, these two effects will compete, requiring me to replace the single
prices with a tech level matrix that give functionality and price at any given
tech level.

  Ilustrative example: The pocket computer.  It becomes available at TL 11

      TL
      |
Type--+--    1     1/bis     2     2/bis     3
      |
      11    1000
      12     900    1000
      13     810     900    1000
      14     720     810     900    1000
      15     630     720     810     900    1000


  Where type is the type of computer that it will duplicate.

  By the way, for ship computers, I allow a volume drop of about a factor of 2
or 3 per tech level.  Thus, at TL 15, one may have a big, expensive, power
hungry model 9, or a small, inexpensive model three that the ships engineer can
carry on his belt.

  As I said above, TL 15 starports are FAR to busy making mailitary and large
craft to make many free traders, thus the average free trader is about TL 12 or
so.  One can still run a free trader off a 1/bis, but it is not as tempting.


  Any comments, especially on fixes to the starship system in MT?

                             Scott
                             SELLSWORTH@HMCVAX
                             sellswor@jarthur.claremont.edu



-------- TML Message #330 --------

Date: Sat, 29 Apr 89 13:21:27 -0500
From: christnp@thor.acc.stolaf.edu (Nick Christenson @ St. Olaf College)
Subject: Economics in the Trav/MT universe
Archive-Message-Number: 330



Scott Sellsworth (sellswor@jarthur.claremont.edu) raises some good point
in his article, but I think some are inaccurate.  I aim to provide counter-
examples on our planet.

First, he suggests that high tech levels wouldn't want to trade with low
tech levels.  This is simply not true.  The USA is probably two TL's higher
than several African nations which we are more than happy to trade with.
Low TL worlds provide: 1) cheap raw materials, and 2) cheap labor.  When 
a country gets a higher standard of living, the comparable cost one has
to pay people to work goes up.  Labor is dirt cheap in, say, Zaire but
expensive in the US.  It's even more expensive where the standard of living
is higher, like Beverly Hills.  A TL 15 fast food restaraunt with *live*
workers in it (rather than automation) would be incredibly expensive to
operate.

Also, he asks why don't TL 15 starports put out TL 12 ships which should
be a heckuva lot cheaper.  I don't know a good answer to this, but in the
"real world" I could ask why doesn't McDonnel/Douglass still make the 
DC 3?  I wold say for the same reason that merchant lines buy TL 15 rather
than TL 12 ships.  What the system doesn't explicitly say (but probably
should) is that if one has the money, the higher tech ship will almost
always provide a return on investment.  Part of this should be due to
the fact that as TL goes up, Jump Drive space and maybe fuel requirement
should go down.  Scott brings this up in his letter; a good point.

When dealing with complicated socio/economic questions I find the most
productive thing to do is to compare the Traveller situation with a similar
situation (if one exists) on Earth.  Last year's technology is usually
plentiful and cheap.  Earlier technology is usually not available.  Lower
tech worlds *will* have high tech equipment if they trade with High tech
worlds, but they can't produce it themselves.  People in "3rd world" 
countries can still have Corvette's, but the country doesn't have the
TL to produce them (or maintain them.)  

Hope this helps some people.  Let's keep up the good discussion on 
economics in the Trav/MT universe.

 


-------- TML Message #331 --------

From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.UU.NET!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix
Subject: MegaTraveller Ship Design
Date: Mon, 1 May 89 9:57:52 BST
Archive-Message-Number: 331



>I agree.  In order to create a large merchant ship I spent 2-3 days poring
>over that information.  At the end, I got a useable ship but I find that
>it has quirks in that I made it more powerful than any merchant ship has
>any right to be.  Guidelines along "this constitutes a merchant", "this
>constitutes a pirate corsair", "this is a blockade ship", etc would be
>nice.

I have to disagree. I tend to view the Traveller/MT universe as a star-faring
version of the 18th-19th century sailing era. During that time, merchants were
often as heavily armed as warships, although usually a bit bigger than warships
of similar armament due to their cargo holds. Pirate corsairs were simply
warships or merchant ships under new management. I always had a great
disrespect for the 400t Corsair, available to Pirates under the old "Citizens
of the Imperium" book. A distinctive corsair like that would be attacked at
once by any Navy ships in the area. Better to have a free trader with some
decent weapons, and perhaps an upgraded computer. The Vargr corsair is exempt
from the above as, unlike in the Imperium, corsairing is an acceptable way of
life for Vargr. Of course, such a ship entering Imperial space does so at its
own risk!

>I think that grafting on the sensor rules onto High Guard and cleaning up the
>combat system would have been a much better way to go. 

I thought that's what they've done. They've also added a set of miniature
movement rules, replacing the High Guard long/short range, which is a good
idea except that it's unrealistic. The best movement system I ever saw was
the "Mayday" game, which had markers for present, past and projected positions
for each ship and missile. This simulated the motion of spacecraft much better.
Try flying backwards or sideways in MegaTraveller! Of course, if you're using
a lot of ships, the simple High Guard system cuts out a lot of work.

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk




-------- TML Message #332 --------

From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.UU.NET!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix
Subject: Megacriminal ships
Date: Mon, 1 May 89 10:29:40 BST
Archive-Message-Number: 332



>I dont really care for MegaTraveller that much, although I like the task 
>system to handle things that aren't in the rules I tend to use the 8+ die
>roll modified by whatever it needs to modify it.

My thoughts and actions exactly!

>but how do you handle a bunch of adventurers that are about to enter a life 
>of crime, and start pirating starships. Do you let them get themselves killed,
>or do you let it lead where it may and the Devil be damned?

Let it lead where it may. As GM, you're not responsible for your players'
actions. You're responsible for what happens to them afterwards. A few hints
for prospective pirates follow.

"There are old pirates, there are bold pirates, but there are no old, bold
pirates." If they're careful, they may do well. If not, there is a Navy, one
of whose functions is to get them. Having said that, if they become
swashbucklers, give them a chance to be heroic.

They should not get greedy. Take one or two ships in a system, then go to
another system entirely. If piracy doesn't upset trade too much, they won't
have to worry about much more than the occasional patrol cruiser on patrol.
If they start wiping out everything in one region, then the Navy will be after
them in force. How much is after them will depend on how much of a nuisance
they become.

What will they do with prisoners? Kill them all, and leave no evidence? Or
let them live, treat them well, and release them soon? If the former, then
somehow some evidence will get out, and then they'll be Public Enemy No. 1.
If the latter, then when they have a reputation, the next trader they attack
will be more likely to surrender if its crew knows they'll get out alive and
well. It also fits in better with the swashbuckling image. They may even
become Public Hero No. 1!

They should think about where they will use for a base. They'll need supplies;
and one day, they'll meet a trader who fights back and damages their ship.
They had better not have antagonised all the class A and B starports!

They should think about what to do about stolen cargo. You do not just sell it
as if it were regular cargo!

They may run into other pirates who resent them poaching. Or pirates who have
accepted the offer below.

If they do really well, the Navy may ask them to go straight and help them hunt
down other pirates, in return for an amnesty. This actually happened in the age
of sail, to Sir Henry Morgan.

To summarise: if you think about it, and if the players aren't just getting
homicidal, a pirate campaign can be fun and challenging.

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk



-------- TML Message #333 --------

From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.UU.NET!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix
Subject: Technology in Trav/MT
Date: Mon, 1 May 89 14:07:28 BST
Archive-Message-Number: 333



>   Equipment will get cheaper by approx. 10% per tech level.  Thus, making a
> TL 5 car at TL 9 should cost you .9^4 or 63% or the TL 9 cost.  Note that this
> makes TL 12 merchant ships dirt cheap by TL 15.  Why are the space lanes not
> full of these critters?  Because the TL 15 starport is swamped with offers to
> build TL 15 craft at full price.

I don't know about MegaTraveller, but the old Traveller universe _was_ full of
ships of TL 12, or lower. The Type S scout/courier and the Type A free trader,
the most common ships around, could be built and maintained at TL 9! Which
meant that you could buy one just about anywhere, and you could get spares for
it just about anywhere. The problem with TL 15 starports is, there aren't many.
What do you do if your TL 15 ship breaks down while you're at Regina (class A
starport, TL 10)? The TL 15 starport builds ships for megacorporations who
probably have their own private spares stores, and for the Navy who does have
private spares stores all over the place - naval bases.
 
>   Ilustrative example: The pocket computer.  It becomes available at TL 11

Does that mean that Earth is now TL 11? Because I own a pocket computer. It
has 32K memory, although that can be expanded. Seriously, although I wouldn't
class it as a model 1 (which I'm assuming is the equivalent of, say, a PDP-11)
I'd expect a pocket model 1 at around TL 8 or 9.
 
>   By the way, for ship computers, I allow a volume drop of about a factor of 2
> or 3 per tech level.  Thus, at TL 15, one may have a big, expensive, power
> hungry model 9, or a small, inexpensive model three that the ships engineer
> can carry on his belt.

Better yet, both. That way, if the ship's computer gets destroyed in battle,
you can use the belt computer to calculate your jumps to somewhere where you
can buy a new full size computer.

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk


-------- TML Message #334 --------

Date: Mon, 1 May 89 09:29 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Imperialines Type TJ Transport
Archive-Message-Number: 334


Does anyone know if GDW/Digest Group/Seeker/Etc. have any plans to release ship
diagrams for the TJ-type transport described in the Rebellion Sourcebook?  From
the art that is included, it appears that *someone* has at least an idea as to
size, etc.

If not, has anyone given any thought to working on it?  I'm planning on running
my players through the "Nail Mission" senario that is included in the book.
(Once they get back from their recent 19-parsec misjump, that is!  ;-) )

I've never done a ship plan, but I was impressed with the 200-ton trader
included with the Starship Operator's Guide, and would like to have something
like that for the TJ before I use it in play.

Any ideas?


Bob Mahoney                                     BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH
PSC Computer Services                           uucp: uunet!unh!psc90!rem
Plymouth, NH 03264                              (or) dartvax!psc90!rem
============================================================================




-------- TML Message #335 --------

Date: Sun, 30 Apr 89 02:29 PST
From: ("Scott, part time fuzzy") SELLSWORTH%HMCVAX.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu
Subject: Thoughts on planetary GNP.
Archive-Message-Number: 335


 Thanks to the person who replied to my last post;  I would be more specific,
but my mailer ate the message.  I agree with what you said.  I would generalize
it as "on high tech worlds, manufacturing has many more capabilities, but these
add complexity and demnad, therefore costs to use."

  Last time, I wrote about a few theories I had on why I thought the traveller
technology setup is a bit messed up.  I also proposed a fix for the strange
lack of change in the available equipment at any given tech level.  I would
like to expand on that in terms of a generic credit rating system.

  Mega Traveller claims that a person spends 250cr/month per level of social
standing, regardless of where they are from.  I do not agree with this due to
the obvious holes in it.  F;oirst off, this means that a Duke spends only about
15 times what a social standing of 1 does.  Second, a duke from Regina would
seem to have a richer lifestyle than one from elsewhere.  I have started to fix
this in the following way.

  First off, define a base per capita GNP.  Striker claims that 2000 cr per TL
above 4 is good, thus a TL 15 person has a base GNP of 22000 cr.  I personally
woulkd modify this like so:

  TL | base GNP
  0     100
  1     250
  2     500
  3    1000
  4    2000
  5    3000
  6    4000
  7    6000
 ...
 15   22000

  This is then modified the trade classes of the world, ranging from 0.8 for
non-agricultural and non-industrial worlds to about 1.4 or 1.5 for a rich
world.  This seems reasonable to me, in that the per capita GNP of world with a
tech level below 4 is almost nonexistent compared to that produced at higher
tech levels.  Also, the amount of cash flowing through someone's hands when
they are on a rich world will be much higher than otherwise, while a poor world
will tend to have less credit flowing through any one person's hands.

  Now, this requires a calculation of how much each social class spends.  Here
I could use some help.  The other night, I figured out that the average person
gains +0.5 social standing through a typical run through the services.  Because
the Navy will tend to boost social standing by a significant amount, while the
pirates will attenuate it, I assumed the following distributions.

    After typical service, 24% of the population has SS drop by 1
                           35% does not change
                           35% raises by 1
                           10% raises by 2
                            1% raises by 3

  These are rough numbers; I intend to run a quick simulation to get a more
rtealistic distribution.  Anyone with the mustering out tables programmed into
a computer could do me a BIG favor by running a bunch of samples and mailing me
the results.

  One then applies this to the normal distribution of stats to get a *real*
spectrum of social standings.  From the reading I have done of the dugest group
stuff, there should be a bias towards the low level nobility due to the
Imperial requirement that all civil servants be part of the peerage.

  Now, once this is done, I will make an income distribution.  I am thinking
of having the lowest social classes live on about a third of the per capita
GNP, while the very highest live on about twenty or thirty times that.  I have
arbitrarily decided that the per capita GNP should be earned by social
standings of around 10, mostly because those above them are so profligate in
thier spending that they bias the curve upwards.  Suggestions?

  Finally, I am hoping to set some sort of "propensity to consume."  I am not
sure if this should be related to government type, or just a DM set thing.  I
am thinking of a range of 60-100% of production is immediately burned in the
society.  This suddenly becomes of interest to a character, as I will expect
them to keep this standard up when they are hired by a shipping company as
crew.  I postulate that there is an incredible desire on the part of most
people to get into space, but a great lack of qualified people who can actually
get those jobs, thus the salaries for space workers are generally much, much
higher than those for a ground worker.

  Thus, social standing will affect a characters income and spending habits
over a range of two orders of magnitude, also depending on what planet they
come from and the conditions they grew up under.  These then may be modified
as needed to produce a real variety of standards of living, as well as a quick
comparison between an adventurer's wealth and the typical planet denezin.

  Anyone see any serious flaws?  Anything that might make this a bit easier to
compute?

  With any luck, I should be able to get this done by semester's end.  Those
pesky finals may get in the way...

                                  Scott Ellsworth
                                  SELLSWORTH@HMCVAX
                                  sellswor@jarthur.claremont.edu


-------- TML Message #336 --------

Date: Mon, 1 May 89 10:44 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Ship's computers
Archive-Message-Number: 336



Scott (SELLSWORTH@HMCVAX) writes:


>  As I said above, TL 15 starports are FAR to busy making mailitary and large
>craft to make many free traders, thus the average free trader is about TL 12 or
>so.  One can still run a free trader off a 1/bis, but it is not as tempting.

Computer questions!  First off, what does 'bis' mean?  I remember that 'fib'
meant something like 'fiber backup', but 'bis' escapes me.  "Big Information
System"?

Also, what actual effect does differing computer models have on ship's
functions, aside from the DM's to the various tasks?  For example, the 200-ton
trader detailed in the Starship Operator's Guide:  Is it doing all of this crew
recognition, entertainment holograms, etc. on a model 1 computer?  If it is
powerful enough to do all this, is there any reason to have a better (more $)
model?  And if it's not, why waste processing on 'frills' at the expense of the
DM's for combat, etc.?

Am I confused?  I think so.  (That would be standard.)

                                           Bob

Bob Mahoney                                     BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH
PSC Computer Services                           uucp: uunet!unh!psc90!rem
Plymouth, NH 03264                              (or) dartvax!psc90!rem
============================================================================



-------- TML Message #337 --------

Date: Mon, 1 May 89 17:18:44 edt
From: (Greg Givler SUPPORT) givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
Subject: TRADE AND COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.4
Archive-Message-Number: 337



  ***************************************************************************
  ** TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST: Cargo, freight, and passenger issues.        **
  **                                                                       **
  ** All followups on this topic should be sent to                         **
  ** givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com.  They will be edited for clarity     **
  ** and resent to the Traveller Mailing List in a following digest.       **
  ** For my benefit, if you would include the word TRADE or COMMERCE in    **
  ** your SUBJECT: this will help me track these articles for inclusion    **
  ** in this digest. Thanks, Greg Givler <givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com> **
  ***************************************************************************

TRAVELLER MAILING LIST TRADE AND COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.4
- ------------------------------------------------------

=====================================

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Here it is the 4th installment of the T&C digest. We have some real good 
articles this time and I think that it is about time for us to roll up our
sleeves and get down to the nitty-gritty. So I am throwing down the gauntlet, 
if anybody out there has a system, on trade and commerce, even a half-started 
one, let's see it and let us comment on it. I will be brave and get the really
bad one that I have been working on up online ASAP, but that may not be for
about a week. So if there is a brave soul that isn't afraid of some 
constructive criticism, send me your system and let us take a look at what 
you got.

Thanks, Greg

BTW, I have separated the articles by a line of "="'s so if you want to 
search thru the article with your editor, then you can use the "="'s to 
pull individual articles out. 

==========================================

CONTENTS - VOLUME NO. 4 <5/1/89>
- -----------

1. Subject: Re: TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.3 - Matt Goldman
2. Subject: Re: Trade & Commerce system - Matt Goldman
3. Subject: A few foulups - Scott Sellsworth
4. Subject: Economics in the Trav/MT universe - Nick Christenson

===============================================

1. From: Matt Goldman <goldman@ferris.cray.com>
Subject: Re: TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.3

> Before my detailed response, I'd like to say one of my biggest
> complaints with both the Book 2 and Merchant Prince/MegaTraveller
> systems is the that both are exercises in rolling dice -- there is not
> much call for role-playing in the process.

> 			Mark

As a player and a referee, I don't like to roll dice.  I like to play very
"fast and loose" games where the object is not who can roll the best dice,
but who can role play the most interesting characters.  I see the various
tables as a starting place for an adventure, not the adventure.  

Too much line noise at this end.  So I'm going to jack-out now.

			Matt

[ After reading this I got intrigued, so I sent a personal plea to Matt to
pray continue... below is my request! - Greg]

Hi Matt, this is Greg from the Trade and Commerce Digest, I was wandering if
you were planning to expound some more on your starting statement. If you could 
I think that it would make some interesting points and lead to some good 
discussions. I would like to see some more of your thoughts, if you have the 
time. I promise that I won't use to much red ink on them. Basically the point
of your letter is something that I have felt strongly about, for some time.
I have seen gaming sessions grind to a halt because the ship owners needed to 
find out what cargo was available. This meant that the rest of the players 
sat around and got board. I realize now that I should have cargos pregenerated,
but I never think of that until it is too late. Also then even if I have 
pregenerated cargos, then the spend time deciding what cargos they want to buy.
Let me know what you think on the subject, also what might be done to 
aleviate this problem. 

Thanks for your time,

Greg

[ Matt, was gracious enough to give more input on the subject ]

===============================================

2. From: goldman@ferris.cray.com (Matt Goldman)
Subject: Re: Trade & Commerce system

Hello!  It's late at night and the lines to work are quiet now.

     I believe that the *most* important aspect of a game is having fun.  I
do not like spend evenings rolling dice and consulting charts.   I do not
like to run groups of people who like to have everything determined by "The
Great Charts."  Life is more random than that.

     Charts and tables are a good starting place for a DM (or whatever the
"official" term is :-) )  When I plan an adventure I only sketch out rough
plot suggestions.  Players almost never do exactly what I want.  I have a
very heavily populated universe.  Most of my NPC's are player characters of
former adventurers, ex-PC have backgrounds and desires all of their own.  I
try to set a mood for the players that they are involved in a real
universe, populated by real people.  Sure there is the bellhop or checkout
lane person who is lucky to have a name, but there is a lot of dressing.

     Most of the people don't want to do boring things.  Player's for the
most part are not interested in carrying "FARMING IMPLEMENTS, 25 TONS."
However, when one of the "FARMING IMPLEMENTS" has a 5 kiloton/second rate
of fire, things can get interesting.  Rolling the dice can make very rich
characters while role playing can result in characters who are both rich
and interesting.

     My favorate 'setup' to run has been dubbed _Hotel_of_Death_ by the
players.  The senario's initial conditions are the same each time; however,
no two games have ended remotly alike.  A couple of groups never even made
it to the hotel.  They got wrapped up in local politics.  Eventually I hope
to get the senario typed into my system at home.  Currently it lives on
about 200 pages of handwritten notes. (The names "Hotel of Death", "Hotel of
Death II", and "Hotel of Death III" are copyright Matt Goldman.)

     Sigh, this is getting long and off track.  I like games where the
adventure happens to the players.  I dislike games where there is only one
correct solution.

Later.

========================================

3. From: HMCVAX.BITNET!SELLSWORTH@rutgers.edu
Subject: A few foulups

[Stuff Deleted - Greg]

  2.  I approve of the trade journal.  The only comment I have is related to
tech level.  There needs to be some alterations in how tech level works for
equipment availability and such.  See the rest of the post for general ideas.

  4.  Equipment rules are flawed in many of the same ways.  The econmic system
makes next to no sense.  Given that he wanted to create trade between various
tech levels, an unlikely proposition at best, he should have dealt with tech
level changes better.  I therefore propose the following ground rules for
technology.

- ------------------------

  The typical credit referred to is the official currency of the Imperium,
backed by the TAS and the banking megacorporations.  This allows it to be a
good stable currency.  To convert to local currency, use the tables in Striker
or TCS.  I can type these in if needed.  Local currency _ONLY_ matters if one
wants to figure out how the standard of living relates to the standard of
living among the interstellar culture.  All transactions are usually carried
out in Imperial credits.

  Equipment will get cheaper by approx. 10% per tech level.  Thus, making a
TL 5 car at TL 9 should cost you .9^4 or 63% or the TL 9 cost.  Note that this
makes TL 12 merchant ships dirt cheap by TL 15.  Why are the space lanes not
full of these critters?  Because the TL 15 starport is swamped with offers to
build TL 15 craft at full price.

  Now, as TL rises, the functionality will increase by about 10-20% per tech
level.  In some cases, such as space technology or computers, the rise is much,
much more.  For these, I use about an order of magnitude for each 1-3 tech
levels depending on the effects I want to get out of the equipment.

  Finally, these two effects will compete, requiring me to replace the single
prices with a tech level matrix that give functionality and price at any given
tech level.

  Ilustrative example: The pocket computer.  It becomes available at TL 11

      TL
      |
Type--+--    1     1/bis     2     2/bis     3
      |
      11    1000
      12     900    1000
      13     810     900    1000
      14     720     810     900    1000
      15     630     720     810     900    1000


  Where type is the type of computer that it will duplicate.

  By the way, for ship computers, I allow a volume drop of about a factor of 2
or 3 per tech level.  Thus, at TL 15, one may have a big, expensive, power
hungry model 9, or a small, inexpensive model three that the ships engineer can
carry on his belt.

  As I said above, TL 15 starports are FAR to busy making mailitary and large
craft to make many free traders, thus the average free trader is about TL 12 or
so.  One can still run a free trader off a 1/bis, but it is not as tempting.



                             Scott
                             SELLSWORTH@HMCVAX
                             sellswor@jarthur.claremont.edu

===================================================

4. From: "Nick Christenson @ St. Olaf College" <christnp@thor.acc.stolaf.edu>
Subject: Economics in the Trav/MT universe

Scott Sellsworth (sellswor@jarthur.claremont.edu) raises some good point
in his article, but I think some are inaccurate.  I aim to provide counter-
examples on our planet.

First, he suggests that high tech levels wouldn't want to trade with low
tech levels.  This is simply not true.  The USA is probably two TL's higher
than several African nations which we are more than happy to trade with.
Low TL worlds provide: 1) cheap raw materials, and 2) cheap labor.  When 
a country gets a higher standard of living, the comparable cost one has
to pay people to work goes up.  Labor is dirt cheap in, say, Zaire but
expensive in the US.  It's even more expensive where the standard of living
is higher, like Beverly Hills.  A TL 15 fast food restaraunt with *live*
workers in it (rather than automation) would be incredibly expensive to
operate.

Also, he asks why don't TL 15 starports put out TL 12 ships which should
be a heckuva lot cheaper.  I don't know a good answer to this, but in the
"real world" I could ask why doesn't McDonnel/Douglass still make the 
DC 3?  I wold say for the same reason that merchant lines buy TL 15 rather
than TL 12 ships.  What the system doesn't explicitly say (but probably
should) is that if one has the money, the higher tech ship will almost
always provide a return on investment.  Part of this should be due to
the fact that as TL goes up, Jump Drive space and maybe fuel requirement
should go down.  Scott brings this up in his letter; a good point.

When dealing with complicated socio/economic questions I find the most
productive thing to do is to compare the Traveller situation with a similar
situation (if one exists) on Earth.  Last year's technology is usually
plentiful and cheap.  Earlier technology is usually not available.  Lower
tech worlds *will* have high tech equipment if they trade with High tech
worlds, but they can't produce it themselves.  People in "3rd world" 
countries can still have Corvette's, but the country doesn't have the
TL to produce them (or maintain them.)  

Hope this helps some people.  Let's keep up the good discussion on 
economics in the Trav/MT universe.

==============================================================================
TRADE AND COMMERCE DIGEST             | ****This*SPACE*intentionally*left****
Greg Givler, Editor                   | *************************************
James Perkins, List Administrator     | ************FULL*OF*STARS************
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send replies to: givler@cbmvax.uucp or givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
==============================================================================



-------- TML Message #338 --------

Date: Tue, 2 May 89 12:35:13 edt
From: givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com (Greg Givler SUPPORT)
Subject: Re:  Megacriminal ships
Archive-Message-Number: 338


>From: adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk
>Subject: Megacriminal ships
>Date: Mon, 1 May 89 10:29:40 BST
>Archive-Message-Number: 332

>>but how do you handle a bunch of adventurers that are about to enter a life 
>>of crime, and start pirating starships. Do you let them get themselves killed,
>>or do you let it lead where it may and the Devil be damned?
	
>Let it lead where it may. As GM, you're not responsible for your players'
>actions. You're responsible for what happens to them afterwards. A few hints
>for prospective pirates follow.
	
[Lots of good ideas deleted]

I just want to say thanks, I think that I may have become stuffy in my old
age :-D , I wasn't having fun running them because they kept trying to think
of ways to kill each other. But if they become pirates then advancement thru
murder is quite a "ends justifies the means" way of handling it. At least in 
my mind (warped though it may be :-)

>"There are old pirates, there are bold pirates, but there are no old, bold
>pirates." 

I hadn't considered this, and this way they can't say that I am out to get
them after all they are doing something that is considered Illegal.


>To summarise: if you think about it, and if the players aren't just getting
>homicidal, a pirate campaign can be fun and challenging.

Thanks again for the advice, BTW, what do all of you use for punishment of
pirates? In my old justice system, it is DEATH BY CYCLING, and I don't mean 
riding a bike!

	
> "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott
	
> Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
> UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk
	
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Givler                        Q-Link: Commodore
Telecommunications Coordinator     CompuServe: CBM/Support 76703,2047
Commodore Customer Support         INTERNET: givler@cbmvax.uucp
215-436-4200 (Support Line)        OR :::::: givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I usually have something clever to say.... but.... oh well.....
==============================================================================



-------- TML Message #339 --------

Date: Tue, 2 May 89 12:35:13 edt
From: givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com (Greg Givler SUPPORT)
Subject: Re:  Megacriminal ships
Archive-Message-Number: 339


>From: adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk
>Subject: Megacriminal ships
>Date: Mon, 1 May 89 10:29:40 BST
>Archive-Message-Number: 332

>>but how do you handle a bunch of adventurers that are about to enter a life 
>>of crime, and start pirating starships. Do you let them get themselves killed,
>>or do you let it lead where it may and the Devil be damned?
	
>Let it lead where it may. As GM, you're not responsible for your players'
>actions. You're responsible for what happens to them afterwards. A few hints
>for prospective pirates follow.
	
[Lots of good ideas deleted]

I just want to say thanks, I think that I may have become stuffy in my old
age :-D , I wasn't having fun running them because they kept trying to think
of ways to kill each other. But if they become pirates then advancement thru
murder is quite a "ends justifies the means" way of handling it. At least in 
my mind (warped though it may be :-)

>"There are old pirates, there are bold pirates, but there are no old, bold
>pirates." 

I hadn't considered this, and this way they can't say that I am out to get
them after all they are doing something that is considered Illegal.


>To summarise: if you think about it, and if the players aren't just getting
>homicidal, a pirate campaign can be fun and challenging.

Thanks again for the advice, BTW, what do all of you use for punishment of
pirates? In my old justice system, it is DEATH BY CYCLING, and I don't mean 
riding a bike!

	
> "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott
	
> Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
> UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk
	
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Givler                        Q-Link: Commodore
Telecommunications Coordinator     CompuServe: CBM/Support 76703,2047
Commodore Customer Support         INTERNET: givler@cbmvax.uucp
215-436-4200 (Support Line)        OR :::::: givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I usually have something clever to say.... but.... oh well.....
==============================================================================



-------- TML Message #340 --------

Date: Tue, 2 May 89 21:11 PST
From: SELLSWORTH%HMCVAX.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu ("Scott, part time fuzzy")
Subject: RE: Ship's computers
Archive-Message-Number: 340


>Scott (SELLSWORTH@HMCVAX) writes:

>>  As I said above, TL 15 starports are FAR to busy making mailitary and large
>>craft to make many free traders, thus the average free trader is about TL 12
>>or
>>so.  One can still run a free trader off a 1/bis, but it is not as tempting.

>Computer questions!  First off, what does 'bis' mean?  I remember that 'fib'
>meant something like 'fiber backup', but 'bis' escapes me.  "Big Information
>System"?

  As best as I can tell, it means "better."  In Old Traveller, the bis models
were identical to the normal ones, except that they had a mauch larger cpu and
no storage.  Thus, one could run better programs, but one had fewer options (in
general)  This was an artifact of the old traveller system where one had
specific programs that did things and took up generic space units.  I
personally liek the new system better where a bigger computer just controls
more stuff.

  Quoted stuff---------
Bob Mahoney                                     BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH

Also, what actual effect does differing computer models have on ship's
functions, aside from the DM's to the various tasks?  For example, the 200-ton
trader detailed in the Starship Operator's Guide:  Is it doing all of this crew
recognition, entertainment holograms, etc. on a model 1 computer?  If it is
powerful enough to do all this, is there any reason to have a better (more $)
model?  And if it's not, why waste processing on 'frills' at the expense of the
DM's for combat, etc.?

- ----- End quoted stuff

  Hokay, here is what **WE** do. This is not very official....

  First off, a bigger computer lets you get by with less crew, or lets you use
better equipment with the same crew.  Second, the machinery gives you neat
combat DM's  We rule that most of that dreck they mention in the starship
operators manual can be run on most machines, but it gets better with tech
level and computer power.  When a combat situation comes up, you sht down your
library program and all the entertainment consoles, shoo the passengers back to
thier rooms, and lock all of the doors.  Thus, a combat is the ideal time to
try and take a ship over as its internal scanners may well be inoperative.
This is not so on a ship with *far* more computing power than it needs.

  Example:My current group was given an electronic warfare/tacint ship vaguely
disguised as a merchant ship.  They have three of every communicator ever built
at experimental tech levels.  (Read as "prone to failure at bad times")  Thier
electronics are fantastic, and thier computer would normally be a part of a
battleship.  A big battleship.  This little toy was built by Naval Intelligence
as a small spy craft.  Because it is so overpowered, it routinely keeps track
of all sorts of things that a normal ships computer would not.  (e.g recording
all intrument readings at all times, instead of the critical ones, recording
comm channels and sensor inputs much of the time on the off chance it will be
useful later, etc.)

  Now, I allow technology to fight it out on many occasions.  Breaking the
security on a coded transmission is child's play to a device like this, so it
is routinely done.  They usually have no problem crashing security on most
planets they go to, etc.  On the downside, it can be spotted.  After all, thier
software is only as good as the programmer.  While the hardware is almost
unbeatable, a clever person on a ground station might well notice the breakin
attempts and get them into heaps and piles of trouble, when they really were
not interested in the information.

  It is an equivalent circumstance to a band of space aliens coming to earth
and casually breaking into the NSA or CIA files just to see if they can do it.
This is would cause a great deal of trouble.

  By the way, to the person who mentioned you "pocket computer," I believe that
the model 1 is at or near mainframe levels of capability, pushing into the
supercomputer regions.  I do think it should be earlier than TL 11, but my
gripes about the weird, utterly non-linear technology scale are well known.

>Am I confused?  I think so.  (That would be standard.)

                                       Scott
                              Scott Ellsworth
                              sellswor@jarthur.claremont.edu
                              SELLSWORTH@HMCVAX

The Traveller Mailing List is a courtesy of James Perkins and Tektronix, Inc.
All opinions and material above is the responsibility of the originator.
Send Submissions To: @RELAY.CS.NET:traveller@dadla.LA.TEK.COM,
	uunet!dadla.la.tek.com!traveller, or traveller@dadla.la.tek.com
List Administrator: traveller-request@dadla.la.tek.com

-------- TML Message #341 --------

Date: Wed, 3 May 89 15:55:28 -0500
From: ("Nick Christenson @ St. Olaf College") christnp@thor.acc.stolaf.edu
Subject: Traveller computers
Archive-Message-Number: 341



Subject: Ship's computers

Bob Mahoney (B_MAHONEY@UNHH) writes:
Scott (SELLSWORTH@HMCVAX) writes:
>  As I said above, TL 15 starports are FAR to busy making mailitary and large
>craft to make many free traders, thus the average free trader is about TL 12 or
>so.  One can still run a free trader off a 1/bis, but it is not as tempting.

Computer questions!  First off, what does 'bis' mean?  I remember that 'fib'
meant something like 'fiber backup', but 'bis' escapes me.  "Big Information
System"?

Also, what actual effect does differing computer models have on ship's
functions, aside from the DM's to the various tasks?  For example, the 200-ton
trader detailed in the Starship Operator's Guide:  Is it doing all of this crew
recognition, entertainment holograms, etc. on a model 1 computer?  If it is
powerful enough to do all this, is there any reason to have a better (more $)
model?  And if it's not, why waste processing on 'frills' at the expense of the
DM's for combat, etc.?

My reply:

The big difference in computer types is how *good* a program you can run
(as well as how many you can run at once.)

The programs for navigation and maneuvering in system seem to be fairly
standardized and comparatively brief.  However, the combat programs come
in all ranges of sophistication.  This is evident in the High Guard combat
system, as well as it's direct descendent MegaTraveller.

At first one might think that computers don't do enough.  I think that 
since relative computer size is the *only* modifier that effects *every*
to hit and to penetrate die roll.  One can also imagine a large number
of things the computer has to monitor as well.  Think about how much junk
the Space Shuttle's computer system keeps track of!  And that's just for
an in-system ship that can't keep a timetable!  For a free trader to be
profitable it has to be reliable which means on board diagnostic and 
automated correction systems have to be excellent, taking up lots of 
CPU time.  This is my interperetation as to why a ship of a given size
has a minimum computer requirement.  

Obviously the people at GDW have simplified things considerably and 
more or less reasonably.

I think Book 2 says what BIS stands for but I don't have it handy.  Volume
one of High Guard (anyone besides me remember this?) says a bis computer
is "enhanced."  That's all I could come up with.

Enjoy,

Nick Christenson
christnp@thor.acc.stolaf.edu






-------- TML Message #342 --------

From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.UU.NET!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix
Subject: Ship's computers
Date: Thu, 4 May 89 10:30:54 BST
Archive-Message-Number: 342



Scott (SELLSWORTH@HMCVAX) writes:
> 
> >Computer questions!  First off, what does 'bis' mean?  I remember that 'fib'
> >meant something like 'fiber backup', but 'bis' escapes me.  "Big Information
> >System"?
> 
>   As best as I can tell, it means "better."  In Old Traveller, the bis models
> were identical to the normal ones, except that they had a mauch larger cpu and
> no storage. Thus, one could run better programs, but one had fewer options (in
> general)  This was an artifact of the old traveller system where one had
> specific programs that did things and took up generic space units.

Most importantly, there were a whole range of "Jump" programs, one for each
length of jump. The longer the jump, the larger the program. In addition to
the "Jump" program, you also had to run a "Navigate" program. A model 1
computer could run "Navigate" and "Jump-1" together, but not "Navigate" and
"Jump-2", which a scout/courier or far trader would need to do. A model 2
could do that, but cost MCr9, to the Model 1's MCr1, and in addition was
larger (2 tons vs. 1 ton). The model 1 bis could run "Navigate" and "Jump-2"
together, but only cost MCr4 and only took up 1 ton.

> Also, what actual effect does differing computer models have on ship's
> functions, aside from the DM's to the various tasks?  For example, the 200-ton
> trader detailed in the Starship Operator's Guide: Is it doing all of this crew
> recognition, entertainment holograms, etc. on a model 1 computer?

The model 1 has 2 units CPU, and 4 units store. It could run anti-hijack (1
unit) permanently, and alternate between, say, Manoeuvre, Library, Target,
and a couple of others, each requiring 1 unit.

>  If it is powerful enough to do all this, is there any reason to have
> a better (more $) model?

Yes. A model 1 can't do a jump-2. It also can't run many programs at once, and
can't run some of the nicer ones at all, e.g. "Double Fire" (4 units).

> ...	 Thus, a combat is the ideal time to
> try and take a ship over as its internal scanners may well be inoperative.

Under the old rules, just before jumping it the ideal time for this, for the
same reason. The computer is running "Navigate" and "Jump-1", each 1 unit.
If it's a model 1, that's all it's doing.

>  By the way, to the person who mentioned you "pocket computer," I believe that
> the model 1 is at or near mainframe levels of capability, pushing into the
> supercomputer regions.

That was me, and I know that. That's why I didn't ask for pocket computers to be
available at TL 7 or 8.

Now for my next gripe. "Fib" means "fibre-optic back-up", and is supposed to
protect the computer against radiation damage. Firstly, a half-decent EMP would
fry the chips, regardless of whether or not fibre-optics were being used.
Secondly, nowadays fibre-optics are starting to be used in the main circuits,
never mind back-ups, and for speed reasons as well as protection. So here's
what I do. A computer designated "fib" has a backup alright, consisting of
redundant components. If the computer gets damaged, by radiation or anything
else, the damage may be either to the main computer or to its back-up. So there
are effectively two computers, which I refer to as A and B. When computer
damage occurs, I roll 1D; on a roll of 1-3, A gets it; on a roll of 4-6, B gets
it. Whichever is the least damaged is the one which is used. In fact, there are
not two distinct machines; the least damaged set of components is being used.
But it's a quick'n'dirty system which allows simulation of back-up.

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk



-------- TML Message #343 --------

From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.UU.NET!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix
Subject: Megacriminal ships
Date: Thu, 4 May 89 10:38:22 BST
Archive-Message-Number: 343



> Thanks again for the advice, BTW, what do all of you use for punishment of
> pirates? In my old justice system, it is DEATH BY CYCLING, and I don't mean 
> riding a bike!

Probably death by whoever finds them first. As well as the Navy, there may also
be bounty-hunters. If they do surrender and get handed over to the authorities,
as opposed to getting "shot trying to escape", their sentence will probably
depend on how much damage they've done, and what they did to their prisoners.
Possibly death, possibly long-term imprisonment. Do you have the published
adventures "Kinunir" or "Prison Planet"?

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk



-------- TML Message #344 --------

Date: Fri, 5 May 89 09:05:13 cdt
From: (Brett Slocum) uunet.UU.NET!hi-csc!slocum@tektronix
Subject: Re: Ship's Computers
Archive-Message-Number: 344


I believe 'bis' stands for 'binary inline store' or something along
those lines.  As Adrian Hurt mentioned, it has 2 CPUs and extra memory 
storage.  Personally, I have always found the Traveller computer rules
to have very little to do with modern computer science.  They seemed
more like computers of 15-20 years ago, when you had to exchange
disk packs to run a different program.  With current trends in optical
storage, fiber optics, multi-processing, micro-miniaturization (yes,
even Crays are getting tiny), etc., computers used to operate starships
would be much different than those portrayed in Traveller.

Do others have these same feelings? 

Brett Slocum   UUCP: ...uunet!hi-csc!slocum
               Arpa: hi-csc!slocum@uunet.uu.net
"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."



-------- TML Message #345 --------

Date: Fri, 5 May 89 09:45:15 -0700
From: evil@blake.acs.washington.edu (Scott Holter v5.1)
Subject: ship's computers
Archive-Message-Number: 345


Brett Slocum commented that Traveller's ship's computers seem highly
anachronoistic.  I agree.  Advanced technology levels should result in
computers that are *less* bulky, power-hungry, and costly.  The Traveller
rules are hopelessly silly.

When I design ships for the universe I GM, I substitute the following
quick rule fix:  shipboard computers have an effective weight of zero
(justified by assuming the tonnage allocated to the bridge is more than
sufficient to accomodate a CPU).  Cost of computers drops 20% for each 
TL above the minimum needed to construct a particular model, down to
20% of original cost (i.e., 4 TL's above minimum), and 5% per TL
thereafter.  Computers do not explicitly require EP.

How does this rule fix change the game?  Not much.  It does allow a
small ship to have a whopping CPU --- but the high cost should be
adequate discouragement.

(Good question:  why do it, if it has little impact on the game?
 Answer:  it makes me feel better.)

Scott Holter.
evil@blake.acs.washington.edu



-------- TML Message #346 --------

Date: Fri, 5 May 89 13:21:40 EDT
From: (Charles Martin) martin-charles@yale.arpa
Subject: Ship's Computers
Archive-Message-Number: 346


Brett Slocum writes:

    ...computers used to operate starships would be much different than
    those portrayed in Traveller.

The Traveller treatment of computers is useless, in my opinion.
I see three options:

    1. Treat computers as so effective, pervasive, and necessary that they
    are ignored for game purposes.  Computer skill is a la Neuromancer,
    requiring equipment, time, and colossally expensive and restricted
    software that comes in a tiny memory pack.  If a ship's computer goes
    out, the ship is totally helpless in combat (since the other ship will
    evade all attacks and bypass all defenses).

    2. Treat computers as the beasts of space opera.  Huge vacuum-tube
    affairs that take up lots of space and are incredibly ineffective.
    Traveller rules as written will do fine for this option.

    3. Work within a Dune-like campaign background, where devices to
    perform computations are strictly forbidden upon pain of atomic death,
    and all calculation is done by highly trained individuals.  Computer
    skill vanishes entirely, but characters may choose to be Mentats:
    No promotion, survive 6+, skills as Other plus Mentat-1 each term.

Charles Martin // INTERNET: martin@cs.yale.edu // BITNET: martin@yalecs.bitnet
UUCP: {cmcl2,harvard,decvax}!yale!martin




-------- TML Message #347 --------

Date: Fri, 5 May 89 12:29:12 -0500
From: uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!gslisa!gsliss!jcunning@tektronix
Subject: BIS & computers
Archive-Message-Number: 347




BIS, I think, stands for something like "improved" or some
such thing. For example, there is a version of the old Mig-15
known as the BIS. Since this is an early 50's aircraft, I doubt
that Binary In Store is what the designation stands for.

Also, you are right about the computers having little
to do with current technology. Digest Group, who for all practical
purposes is writing the Traveller rulebook these days, has found
away around this by saying that all systems are triplicated, and that
is why they are so large. Seen the Starship Operator's Manual
for more information.

				Jim Cunningham
				High Passage Founder
				Traveller Relic





-------- TML Message #348 --------

Date: Fri,  5 May 89 14:35:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: (Eric Edward Moore) em21+@andrew.cmu.edu
Subject: computers
Archive-Message-Number: 348


>Brett Slocum commented that Traveller's ship's computers seem highly
>anachronoistic.  I agree.  Advanced technology levels should result in
>computers that are *less* bulky, power-hungry, and costly.  The
Traveller
>rules are hopelessly silly.
>When I design ships for the universe I GM, I substitute the following
>quick rule fix:  shipboard computers have an effective weight of zero
>(justified by assuming the tonnage allocated to the bridge is more than
>sufficient to accomodate a CPU).  Cost of computers drops 20% for each
>TL above the minimum needed to construct a particular model, down to
>20% of original cost (i.e., 4 TL's above minimum), and 5% per TL
>thereafter.  Computers do not explicitly require EP.

The above suggestion sounds rather good, however the rules are
still a little poor in that the traveller computers still cannot do much.
For example the CPU times of human use programs (like library data
and anti-hijack ) shold me zero. The relative amount of time for the
computer to bring up a file for a person to read is minimal, and 
Anti Hijack only has to be called when someone want's to open 
a door. The door probably has all the hardware required to scan
all the computer has to do is fetch a file from "hard" storage
and compare it to the input. These computers are certainantly
large multi processor jobs so all the computer does is hold the 
door untill a processor is free and then speeds the verification
through.

	-Love Kisses and a Neutron Bomb
		-Eric the Finn
Internet: em21+@andrew.cmu.edu
BITNet: Y612EM21@CMCCVB


-------- TML Message #349 --------

Date: Fri, 5 May 89 12:07:14 PDT
From: (Brad Post) cad.berkeley.edu!zephyr!weldon!brad@tektronix
Subject: Ooops :-(
Archive-Message-Number: 349



Well guys, I made a big boo-boo.  In posting my PBM turns I forgot to post
turn #10, well it turns out that there is no turn 10, and actually that turn
#11 is turn 10.  Sorry for all the confusion, but I guess I just wasn't 
paying attention, because things were happening so fast.

Again, sorry for the mistake.

Brad



-------- TML Message #350 --------

From: (Matt Burdick) burdick%hpindzb@hp-sde.sde.hp.com
Subject: Re: Ship's computers
Date: Thu, 4 May 89 13:47:46 PDT
Archive-Message-Number: 350


> >  By the way, to the person who mentioned you "pocket computer," I believe that
> > the model 1 is at or near mainframe levels of capability, pushing into the
> > supercomputer regions.

Why do you need a supercomputer in your pocket?  Why isn't the pocket
computer just another "cell" of a larger computer that uses many cells
working in parallel in a cooperative network?  Why do Traveller computers
resemble 1970's mainframes running MVS?  By the way, I beleive that 'bis'
is a signifier from IBM mainframes (from the '70s) that means "enhanced".

> Now for my next gripe. "Fib" means "fibre-optic back-up", and is supposed to
> protect the computer against radiation damage. Firstly, a half-decent EMP would
> fry the chips, regardless of whether or not fibre-optics were being used.

If the chips were completely enclosed in a conductive, grounded shield, the
EMP could not reach them.  With fibre-optic cables entering the shield, the
chips inside would be relatively safe.


> Secondly, nowadays fibre-optics are starting to be used in the main circuits,
> never mind back-ups, and for speed reasons as well as protection.

Exactly.  Any computer system found in the higher tech levels of Traveller
would probably not be made of silicon.  Making the entire computer out of
fibre-optic technology or something unknown right now is not that
far-fetched.  This is why computers in Traveller irk me so much.  Not much
imagination went into extrapolating current computer technology into the
future.

								-matt

- -- 
Matt Burdick			| Hewlett-Packard
burdick%hpda@hplabs.hp.com	| Technical Communications Lab




-------- TML Message #351 --------

From: uunet!netxcom!ewiles@tektronix.UUCP (Edwin Wiles)
Subject: Re: computers
Date: Sat, 6 May 89 11:37:27 EDT
Archive-Message-Number: 351


Eric the Finn writes:
> For example the CPU times of human use programs (like library data
> and anti-hijack ) shold me zero. The relative amount of time for the
> computer to bring up a file for a person to read is minimal, and 
> Anti Hijack only has to be called when someone want's to open 
> a door. The door probably has all the hardware required to scan
> all the computer has to do is fetch a file from "hard" storage
> and compare it to the input. These computers are certainantly
> large multi processor jobs so all the computer does is hold the 
> door untill a processor is free and then speeds the verification
> through.

Awwww, you can't do that!  It would make it nearly impossible to hijack
a ship!  Consider this, as the hardware gets better, programmers constantly
push the machine to the edges of it's ability.  It is quite likely that
as happens now, the machine is operating on the verge of overload.  When
one is about to jump, one turns off programs extraneous to performing the
jump so that one has spare capacity.  Of course, you could defeat this
problem by buying a large computer, and 'smaller' more efficient programs
to run on it.

How's that?

- -- 
...!hadron\   "Who?... Me?... WHAT opinions?!?" | Edwin Wiles
  ...!sundc\   Schedule: (n.) An ever changing	| NetExpress Comm., Inc.
   ...!pyrdc\			  nightmare.	| 1953 Gallows Rd. Suite 300
    ...!uunet!netxcom!ewiles			| Vienna, VA 22182



-------- TML Message #352 --------

From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.uu.net!zephyr!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix
Subject: Ship's computers
Date: Mon, 8 May 89 9:55:38 BST
Archive-Message-Number: 352



> Why do you need a supercomputer in your pocket?  Why isn't the pocket
> computer just another "cell" of a larger computer that uses many cells
> working in parallel in a cooperative network?  Why do Traveller computers
> resemble 1970's mainframes running MVS?  By the way, I beleive that 'bis'
> is a signifier from IBM mainframes (from the '70s) that means "enhanced".

There was a WWII Italian fighter, the Fiat G50, which had a "bis" variant.
"Bis" was around long before computers.

As for pocket supercomputers, wait till someone puts a small LCD display and
keyboard onto a transputer board! 1MB in your pocket - you can keep your 1 ton
Model 1 bis!

Seriously though, if that sort of computing power becomes available and cheap,
big machines may become obsolete. Who needs a room full of computer when you
can do all your work on your lap-top, then send it via a modem by telephone,
radio, laser or meson communicator to whoever you want. To reverse the emphasis
above, "larger" computers may become nothing more than a lot of portable
machines networked together. Or, as I said in an earlier article, suppose
someone on the ship has a pocket model 1. The ship's main computer gets blown
away by a critical hit. So the pocket model gets linked to the ship's systems,
and the ship can at least jump again.

> If the chips were completely enclosed in a conductive, grounded shield, the
> EMP could not reach them.  With fibre-optic cables entering the shield, the
> chips inside would be relatively safe.

Are you sure? If so, why is EMP a problem? Most machines have earthed, metal
shells, mainly to prevent them from causing radio interference.

Back to the real world. My statement about pocket computers having 32K has
just gone out of date. There's a new one out with 64K. We're getting there!

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk



-------- TML Message #353 --------

From: bart@videovax.tv.TEK.com (Bart Massey)
Subject: Re: Ship's computers 
Date: Mon, 08 May 89 12:30:22 PDT
Archive-Message-Number: 353


>> If the chips were completely enclosed in a conductive, grounded shield, the
>> EMP could not reach them.  With fibre-optic cables entering the shield, the
>> chips inside would be relatively safe.
>
> Are you sure? If so, why is EMP a problem? Most machines have earthed, metal
> shells, mainly to prevent them from causing radio interference.

That's what the fiber-optic cables are for -- most EMP is carried into
equipment by the wires, which act like antennas.  (BTW, a friend just asked
me about "fiber optic power cables".  A good question...)  For best
protective effect, the metal enclosure should also be spherical -- such a
structure is known as a "Faraday Cage", after EMP pioneer and discoverer of
the solenoid Michael Faraday.  Note that a Faraday Cage doesn't depend on
being "grounded" -- just on the fact that the electrostatic force is an
inverse-square law (in normal space-time, my friend comments.  Relativistic
speeds and jumpspace are an interesting question...)  (Another good question
- -- what does "ground" or "earth" mean in this context, anyway? -- It seems
to me that with the EMP-generating device and its target insulated nearly
perfectly from each other and the rest of the universe, the electromagnetics
get pretty complicated -- particularly since there are probably also a bunch
of charged particles flying around...)

Sigh.  Looks to me like it's time to pitch the "fiber-optic" explanation, and
just describe these computers as "hardened" (in the military sense).
Otherwise, the physics gets too hairy to be fun anymore.  Note as well that
one would expect that there are better ways than EMP to selectively attack
complicated computing machines this far in the future anyway...

					Bart Massey
					..tektronix!videovax.tek.com!bart
					..tektronix!reed.bitnet!bart



-------- TML Message #354 --------

Date: Mon, 8 May 89 17:21:13 edt
From: (Greg Givler SUPPORT) givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
Subject: Re: Ship's computers
Archive-Message-Number: 354


>From: Bart Massey <bart@videovax.tv.tek.com>
>> If the chips were completely enclosed in a conductive, grounded shield, the
>> EMP could not reach them.  With fibre-optic cables entering the shield, the
>> chips inside would be relatively safe.
>
> Are you sure? If so, why is EMP a problem? Most machines have earthed, metal
> shells, mainly to prevent them from causing radio interference.
	
>That's what the fiber-optic cables are for -- most EMP is carried into
>equipment by the wires, which act like antennas.  (BTW, a friend just asked

[stuff deleted]

>Bart Massey
>..tektronix!videovax.tek.com!bart
>..tektronix!reed.bitnet!bart

Please don't flame me B-) (I was a music major in college, the closest thing
that I got to physics, was Acoustics of Music (Acoustical Physics only)) but
do we have to have a rationale for everything, or could you just say it is 
that way because the "rules" say so? I know I am naive, so flame away. 

Greg

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Givler                        Q-Link: Commodore
Telecommunications Coordinator     CompuServe: CBM/Support 76703,2047
Commodore Customer Support         INTERNET: givler@cbmvax.uucp
215-436-4200 (Support Line)        OR :::::: givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I usually have something clever to say.... but.... oh well.....
==============================================================================



-------- TML Message #355 --------

From: uunet!att!ihlpf!zonker@tektronix.UUCP
Date: Mon, 8 May 89 17:50:44 -0400
Subject: Bis and Computers 
Archive-Message-Number: 355


Bis is latin for doubled.  The use as improved came from places like
the MiG-15 as noted. (P.S. It shold be in the dictionary).

Computers:  Actually if you know nothing at all about computers the computer
rules work rather well.  (Since when Traveller was first published I knew
nothing about  computers, except that you could play games on them, I had no
troubles with the rules).  Still the rules aren't too bad considering that
they were written by someone who at the time knew virtually nothing about
computers. (At the time Traveller was first published the only computer
anyone at GDW had any experiance with was an old Tandy which was mainly used
to play an unwinable Dungeon game).  They do effectively limit what a ship
can do versus other ships, which is primarily their purpose.  At any rate,
for my house rules I modified the rules as follows:

	Assume the chart on p.13 book 2 is for TL 5.
	Combine the CPU/Storage columns into one for capacity
		Note: this eliminates Bis models.
	On even TL cut the cost by 1/3
	On odd TL shift the capacity down by one row i.e. the model two
		becomes model 1, etc.
		I projected the top of the chart at a capacity of 20.
	I never modified Software, but I had considered subtracting a
	constant from the capacity for the routine Data Bases and stuff.
	This would make ground based computers more effective.

					Tom H.



-------- TML Message #356 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 356
Subject: TML Software Test Message...
Date: 09 May 89 13:14:34 PDT (Tue)
From: (System Integrator) integ@amadeus.LA



Hello Travellers!

This is your list administrator, James Perkins (using a guest account).
With this message I am testing all-new list software.

I've been working on a method to allow each of you to decide whether
you'd like to receive this list in "instant" form (like it's done now),
or twice-a-week "digest" form.  After spending about 15 hours of time
working on it, I think it's ready for the first real test.

You are all currently registered for "instant" delivery, so you should
see little change in delivery.  When I am convinced the software is
operating correctly, I'll ask you all to tell me if you want to change
your delivery method to "digest", but for now, please keep quiet.  I
plan to test for a week or two.

[However, if you'd like to become a beta-tester for digest delivery (and
hence at risk for poor delivery, and asked to report problems), feel
free to contact me at once].

Oh, if you receive this message and are feeling "in a particularly
helpful mood", feel free to send an acknowledgement.  Only do this if it
is convenient for you.  I don't want to be flooded with
acknowledgements.  It would help make me feel a little more comfortable
that the new software is operating correctly.

If you have been planning a posting to the list, please don't wait until
everything is tested to post it! I need your messages to test this
software.

I really hope this will work; people are still continuing to drop out of
the list because of the high volume; digesting must be implemented to
keep the listees happy and permit list growth.

Cross my fingers...



-------- TML Message #357 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 357
Date: Tue, 9 May 89 10:48:11 EDT
From: (Arturo Perez x3239) perez@qm7503.genrad.com
Subject: Ships, again



Well, after designing a ship, I reevaluated it to make sure I hadn't made
any mistakes and to try to eke out more space for cargo.  It was, after
all, a freighter.

I fiddled with it and finally came out with something useable.  But in
order to check my numbers I compared my ship to a standard model built with
the same hull.  Boy! was I in for a shock!

The ship I built had nowhere near the accommodations, nowhere near the
cargo space, nowhere near the price!  My crew was sleeping in bunks vs
staterooms, 2700 vs 1900 kl of cargo space, and my ship cost 3x as much,
about MCr 65 vs MCr 195.  What the ...!

I see no way for this particular ship, the Subsidized Merchant, to be
built with its purported data given the MegaTraveller shipbuilding rules.
Are we being tricked here, or what?  Has anyone else tried to check the
building of the standard ships with the MegaTraveller ruleset?

Arturo Perez



-------- TML Message #358 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 358
Date: Tue, 9 May 89 11:25:28 -0400
From: elturner%phoenix@princeton.edu (Edwin L Turner)
Subject: Re:  Bis and Computers


A somewhat radical solution to the Traveller computer problem is to treat
all reasonably high tech level computers as AIs (artificial intelligences)
and use them as NPC's.

This has a number of advantages:
1) It is a (perhaps the only) reasonable extrapolation of current computer
   science.
2) It often makes for a smoother and more natural interaction between the
   Referee and players.  The Ref can simply speak as the AI when giving
   players info from data bases or ship's instruments rather than describing
   what the players are seeing on a display in the usual narrative style.
3) Interactions with AIs often provide an additional "futuristic" element
   or even challenge in the game.  AIs should, of course, have interesting
   and somewhat quirky (by human standards) "personalities" in some
   plausable way (Think of HAL in 2001 but try to be original.)

There are some problems also, naturally:
1) If you are not careful the AIs will be so powerful as to overwhelm the
   players or leave them with nothing to do except issue orders to the AI.
   The best solution seems to be to handicap the machines in some ways; I
   used (when I was a Ref) Asimov's famous 3 laws plus the stipulation that
   AIs had to be shut down while preparing for, during, and following jump
   due to an unfortunate interaction between the jump field and the 
   unspecified hardware technology of AIs.  They can also be made relatively
   fragile during combat.  I found that these conditions left plenty of
   need for the usual player skills.
2) The "computer" skill must be modified in some way.  I usually let the
   player choose between hardware skill (ability to fix AIs, can be very
   important) and software skill (not programming which is all done by the
   AIs themselves but gives favorable DMs in dealing with AIs, sort of a
   machine equivalent of carisma).

Ed Turner



-------- TML Message #359 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 359
Date: Wed, 10 May 89 12:13:20 edt
From: (Greg Givler SUPPORT) givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
Subject: TRADE & COMMERCE VOL.5



  ***************************************************************************
  ** TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST: Cargo, freight, and passenger issues.        **
  **                                                                       **
  ** All followups on this topic should be sent to                         **
  ** givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com.  They will be edited for clarity     **
  ** and resent to the Traveller Mailing List in a following digest.       **
  ** For my benefit, if you would include the word TRADE or COMMERCE in    **
  ** your SUBJECT: this will help me track these articles for inclusion    **
  ** in this digest. Thanks, Greg Givler <givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com> **
  ***************************************************************************

Letter from the Editor.

This is just a small gripe. As you will see most of the contents of the Digest,
I "lifted" from the list. If this Digest is going to work, you have to send 
your stuff to ME, not the list. Otherwise all I end up doing is send out 
duplicate articles. So, an appeal, if you have something that you think falls
under the heading of Trade or Commerce, E-Mail me direct, if the mail bounces
let Jim know.

So much for the complaint, now for the good stuff, we have some really nice 
articles for your perusal this time, especially number three, "Thoughts on 
planetary GNP", by Scott Ellsworth, at least I thought it was interesting. 
Also, Mark Power has some thoughts for us to ponder, as you will see, his is
the only article included that came direct to me, not to the list. So please
folks, take the time to edit the header TO: line. Thanks, Greg

====================================================
| TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.5 - MAY 10, 1989     |
====================================================

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Subject: MegaTraveller Ship Design - Adrian Hurt
2. Subject: Technology in Trav/MT - Adrian Hurt
3. Subject: Thoughts on planetary GNP - Scott Ellsworth
4. Subject: Trade Digest - Mark A. Power

=========================================

1. From: adrian@cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk
Subject: MegaTraveller Ship Design
Archive-Message-Number: 331

>I agree.  In order to create a large merchant ship I spent 2-3 days poring
>over that information.  At the end, I got a useable ship but I find that
>it has quirks in that I made it more powerful than any merchant ship has
>any right to be.  Guidelines along "this constitutes a merchant", "this
>constitutes a pirate corsair", "this is a blockade ship", etc would be
>nice.

I have to disagree. I tend to view the Traveller/MT universe as a star-faring
version of the 18th-19th century sailing era. During that time, merchants were
often as heavily armed as warships, although usually a bit bigger than warships
of similar armament due to their cargo holds. Pirate corsairs were simply
warships or merchant ships under new management. I always had a great
disrespect for the 400t Corsair, available to Pirates under the old "Citizens
of the Imperium" book. A distinctive corsair like that would be attacked at
once by any Navy ships in the area. Better to have a free trader with some
decent weapons, and perhaps an upgraded computer. The Vargr corsair is exempt
from the above as, unlike in the Imperium, corsairing is an acceptable way of
life for Vargr. Of course, such a ship entering Imperial space does so at its
own risk!

===============================================

2. From: adrian@cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk
Subject: Technology in Trav/MT
Archive-Message-Number: 333

>   Equipment will get cheaper by approx. 10% per tech level.  Thus, making a
> TL 5 car at TL 9 should cost you .9^4 or 63% or the TL 9 cost.  Note that this
> makes TL 12 merchant ships dirt cheap by TL 15.  Why are the space lanes not
> full of these critters?  Because the TL 15 starport is swamped with offers to
> build TL 15 craft at full price.

I don't know about MegaTraveller, but the old Traveller universe _was_ full of
ships of TL 12, or lower. The Type S scout/courier and the Type A free trader,
the most common ships around, could be built and maintained at TL 9! Which
meant that you could buy one just about anywhere, and you could get spares for
it just about anywhere. The problem with TL 15 starports is, there aren't many.
What do you do if your TL 15 ship breaks down while you're at Regina (class A
starport, TL 10)? The TL 15 starport builds ships for megacorporations who
probably have their own private spares stores, and for the Navy who does have
private spares stores all over the place - naval bases.
 
>   Ilustrative example: The pocket computer.  It becomes available at TL 11

Does that mean that Earth is now TL 11? Because I own a pocket computer. It
has 32K memory, although that can be expanded. Seriously, although I wouldn't
class it as a model 1 (which I'm assuming is the equivalent of, say, a PDP-11)
I'd expect a pocket model 1 at around TL 8 or 9.
 
>   By the way, for ship computers, I allow a volume drop of about a factor of 2
> or 3 per tech level.  Thus, at TL 15, one may have a big, expensive, power
> hungry model 9, or a small, inexpensive model three that the ships engineer
> can carry on his belt.

Better yet, both. That way, if the ship's computer gets destroyed in battle,
you can use the belt computer to calculate your jumps to somewhere where you
can buy a new full size computer.

=============================================

3. From: HMCVAX.BITNET!SELLSWORTH@rutgers.edu
Subject: Thoughts on planetary GNP.
Archive-Message-Number: 335

 Thanks to the person who replied to my last post;  I would be more specific,
but my mailer ate the message.  I agree with what you said.  I would generalize
it as "on high tech worlds, manufacturing has many more capabilities, but these
add complexity and demnad, therefore costs to use."

  Last time, I wrote about a few theories I had on why I thought the traveller
technology setup is a bit messed up.  I also proposed a fix for the strange
lack of change in the available equipment at any given tech level.  I would
like to expand on that in terms of a generic credit rating system.

  Mega Traveller claims that a person spends 250cr/month per level of social
standing, regardless of where they are from.  I do not agree with this due to
the obvious holes in it.  F;oirst off, this means that a Duke spends only about
15 times what a social standing of 1 does.  Second, a duke from Regina would
seem to have a richer lifestyle than one from elsewhere.  I have started to fix
this in the following way.

  First off, define a base per capita GNP.  Striker claims that 2000 cr per TL
above 4 is good, thus a TL 15 person has a base GNP of 22000 cr.  I personally
woulkd modify this like so:

  TL | base GNP
  0     100
  1     250
  2     500
  3    1000
  4    2000
  5    3000
  6    4000
  7    6000
 ...
 15   22000

  This is then modified the trade classes of the world, ranging from 0.8 for
non-agricultural and non-industrial worlds to about 1.4 or 1.5 for a rich
world.  This seems reasonable to me, in that the per capita GNP of world with a
tech level below 4 is almost nonexistent compared to that produced at higher
tech levels.  Also, the amount of cash flowing through someone's hands when
they are on a rich world will be much higher than otherwise, while a poor world
will tend to have less credit flowing through any one person's hands.

  Now, this requires a calculation of how much each social class spends.  Here
I could use some help.  The other night, I figured out that the average person
gains +0.5 social standing through a typical run through the services.  Because
the Navy will tend to boost social standing by a significant amount, while the
pirates will attenuate it, I assumed the following distributions.

    After typical service, 24% of the population has SS drop by 1
                           35% does not change
                           35% raises by 1
                           10% raises by 2
                            1% raises by 3

  These are rough numbers; I intend to run a quick simulation to get a more
rtealistic distribution.  Anyone with the mustering out tables programmed into
a computer could do me a BIG favor by running a bunch of samples and mailing me
the results.

  One then applies this to the normal distribution of stats to get a *real*
spectrum of social standings.  From the reading I have done of the dugest group
stuff, there should be a bias towards the low level nobility due to the
Imperial requirement that all civil servants be part of the peerage.

  Now, once this is done, I will make an income distribution.  I am thinking
of having the lowest social classes live on about a third of the per capita
GNP, while the very highest live on about twenty or thirty times that.  I have
arbitrarily decided that the per capita GNP should be earned by social
standings of around 10, mostly because those above them are so profligate in
thier spending that they bias the curve upwards.  Suggestions?

  Finally, I am hoping to set some sort of "propensity to consume."  I am not
sure if this should be related to government type, or just a DM set thing.  I
am thinking of a range of 60-100% of production is immediately burned in the
society.  This suddenly becomes of interest to a character, as I will expect
them to keep this standard up when they are hired by a shipping company as
crew.  I postulate that there is an incredible desire on the part of most
people to get into space, but a great lack of qualified people who can actually
get those jobs, thus the salaries for space workers are generally much, much
higher than those for a ground worker.

  Thus, social standing will affect a characters income and spending habits
over a range of two orders of magnitude, also depending on what planet they
come from and the conditions they grew up under.  These then may be modified
as needed to produce a real variety of standards of living, as well as a quick
comparison between an adventurer's wealth and the typical planet denezin.

  Anyone see any serious flaws?  Anything that might make this a bit easier to
compute?

  With any luck, I should be able to get this done by semester's end.  Those
pesky finals may get in the way...

=================================================

4. From: "MARK A. POWER" <uabmap01@asnuab.asn.net>
Subject: Trade Digest

A couple of things for everyones perusal.

1:	Where do cargos come from?

An incident from the campaign I run brought on some questions.
Our heros met a free trader coming into system at the same time.
Since two traders arriving at a low population world (Paya/Aramis) at
the same time could have interesting consequences if they're both
trying to sell the same things, I randomly determined that the free
trader was carrying (among other things) 25 tons of silver on spec.
This didn't have any bearing on things until later in the week, when
one of the cargos for sale locally was silver.  Since Paya has a
population of around 1000, most cargos are probably trans-shipped
anyway, but this made the situation glaringly obvious.  How should
this effect cargo availability, price, etcetera?

2:	Another trade system?

I just picked up the new (#37) Challenge.  In it was a Bestiary column
on a small bird commonly found as a pet.  The interesting part was the
entry given for the "Lasias Lowalaa as cargo".

Lots:			1 kilogram each
Value:			Cr1000 each
Transport Price:	Cr50 per week
Transport Cost:		Cr5 each per week
Market:			Luxury item
Restriction:		+2
Availability:		7+
Special Handling:	Live animal.  Cannot be shipped in low berth.
			Special feeding requirements.

Does this format look familiar?  Is it for a trade and speculation
system we haven't considered?  Might it be useful for our system?

Mark

[ The above format reminds me of Small Goods from an article in the Journal,
a few years back, when I get home I will try and look it up and post something
for the next journal. - Greg ]
==============================================================================
TRADE AND COMMERCE DIGEST             | ****This*SPACE*intentionally*left****
Greg Givler, Editor                   | *************************************
James Perkins, List Administrator     | ************FULL*OF*STARS************
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send replies to: givler@cbmvax.uucp or givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
==============================================================================




-------- TML Message #360 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 360
Date: Wed, 10 May 89 10:52:19 -0500
From: uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!zephyr!gslisa!gsliss!jcunning@tektronix
Subject: AI and ship design stuff



A few words about AI: The idea presented is an interesting one, and
certainly would be a lot of fun. The limitation here, however, is
that AI comes into being only at higher tech levels. See Book 8,
Robots, for more on this. Also, remember the good old Kinunir in
Adventure One, which went slightly wacko and killed the ship's crew. (It also
lied to me a great deal when I found the ship and tried to use it for
my own. It ignored the jump instructions I gave it and turned itself
into the navy at Pixie, who payed me a mere CR25,000. Grrrrrr.)


About ships: Most of you have already seen my thoughts about
Megatraveller ship design. To be perfectly honest (Joe and Gary
forgive me if you're out there) I hate it. The original system was
not perfect at all, but I am willing to sacrifice some realism in 
return for more playability. I was going to write some material
based on some of my old High Passage stuff for Traveller`s Digest,
but the ship system is such a drag that I think I shall now pass
on the deal.

Let me ask this: Is there anyone who preferrs the Megatraveller ship design
system out there? Let's hear from you. I would be most interested in
learning about your reasons.


					Jim Cunningham
Traveller Relic



-------- TML Message #361 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 361
Date: Wed, 10 May 89 15:01:29 MDT
From: (SULAIMAN) asulaima@udenva.cair.du.edu
Subject: MT ship design



Funny my ships keep coming out 10-15% cheaper. You may be doing something
wrong but if u are building a starship especially a merchant vessel here
are a few tips that will save u money and cargo space.

1. Decide on cargo space first.
2. Make Hull streamlined and not Airframe.
3. Don't put in EM Mask. Don't need it and not worth it either.
4. On cargo ships atleast u don't need Elecvtronic Circuit Protection.
5. Go for as small a maneuver drive as possible.
6. Go for smallest possible P-plant even if it means Agility 0. With the new
rules P-plants are really fuel hungry. It makes agility harder to reach but
a lot fewer MT ships have high agility anyway. The way rules are set up 
the smaller the ship the more likely it has high agility. Somehow seeing
a 100,000 t dreadnought pull agility 6 was a little hard to envision in old
High Guard.
7. Try to approach the 30/90 day limit on fuel for duration. It is not necessary
as long as you can keep it over 14/42 higher is preferable on Merch ships and
some warships with long loiter times (SDB's etc).
8. Try small staterooms for crew not bunks. Book suggests that bunk are for
vehicles etc I think. If requiring a large stateroom price it 250,000
not 400,000 as mentioned in Ref's book under accomodations. This is not
in the flowchart part unfortunately.

9. The Dweeb who designed the Subsidized merchant is wrong. He also bungled
the patrol cruiser(see my earlier posting). Subsidized merchant works
with Comp Model 2bis and reduced endurance I think its 22/66. Cost is higher
too but still less than old Traveller & High Guard costs. 
10. Problems appear at low tech levels where High Guard or Traveller old
designs CANNOT be directly translated. So consider this a new game and just
downgrade those designs until they can fly.

	Ameer Z. Sulaiman.


-------- TML Message #362 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 362
From: uunet!netxcom!ewiles@tektronix.UUCP (Edwin Wiles)
Subject: Re:  Bis and Computers
Date: Wed, 10 May 89 11:59:14 EDT


>    unspecified hardware technology of AIs.  They can also be made relatively
>    fragile during combat.  I found that these conditions left plenty of
>    need for the usual player skills.

At least one game that I've looked over (played once, lack of players) had
AI's.  The gig was that an accident/failure would cause an AI to have a
malfunction, even if the accident was NOT a direct result of the AI hardware.

If the AI was part of something like a WarBot, you were in serious trouble!
The higher in development the AI was, the easier it was to have a malfunction.

It changes from "unusual accident causes dumb exploratory robot to fly erratic
course" to "accident causes smart medibot to inject wrong drug" to "common
failure causes inteligent life replicant to demonstrate epileptic seizure" to
........sneeze on superbrain wrong and it'll vaporize you while predicting
exactly where each of your component atoms will end up with an error rate of
less than 10^-999 percent.)
					How's that for interesting!

- -- 
...!hadron\   "Who?... Me?... WHAT opinions?!?" | Edwin Wiles
  ...!sundc\   Schedule: (n.) An ever changing	| NetExpress Comm., Inc.
   ...!pyrdc\			  nightmare.	| 1953 Gallows Rd. Suite 300
    ...!uunet!netxcom!ewiles			| Vienna, VA 22182



-------- TML Message #363 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 363
Date: Thu, 11 May 89 08:04:40 EDT
From: vu0141@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu
Subject: Ship design


I'm not sure of the specifics, but its important to remember that the designs
in the Imperial Encyclopedia are standard designs and thus have a (I think)
20% discount because they are mass produced in such great quantities.

Fred Schiff (vu0141@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu)


-------- TML Message #364 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 364
Date: Thu, 11 May 89 18:43:44 MDT
From: (SULAIMAN) asulaima@udenva.cair.du.edu
Subject: Ship design



This is is reponse to Jim Cunningham's article about the starship design etc.

First let me say that the editors of the Ref's manual(Joe Fugate?) etc ought
to be lynched. Second after all the kinks, I like the system. I heard the
same(its too hard...) arguments when High Guard came out and this system is
more playable. Ship design I admit is hard. However the design implicitly
makes a big deal out of a preplan. Meaning u have to be fairly specific about
the ship BEFORE u start. Add ons are a no-no. The design adds more flavor 
and makes u feel as if your ship has more than 1)Hull 2)Weapons 3)Computer
and 4) Cargo Hold. It gives the players more options as to what their ship 
can or cannot do. BTW Jim if you are having problems with ship design why don't
you ask for help. I thought that was part of the reason for this list. I'd 
be glad to build you your ship given your specifications and I'll e-mail u
the math too. I think that's a good idea and if people don't mind I'd like 
those with good ship design on their hands to post it. It could be made a part 
of the digest. I personally would like to see <TL15 ships. I have a few TL13
or so that I'll soon post. Am trying to convert Vargr Corsair to MT currently
so if anyone has ideas let me know.

	Ameer Z. Sulaiman.


-------- TML Message #365 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 365
Date: Mon, 15 May 89 03:06:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: (Michael Francis Polis) mp3o+@andrew.cmu.edu
Subject: Starship Design


[I reformatted this article, before it was distributed, to make it more
readable--James]

This is in response to Ameer Sulaiman's response to Jim Cunningham's
article about starship design.

After all the kinks, I don't like the system.  I liked the High Guard
design rules the first time I saw them.  That's why I bought the book.
It takes time to design a ship in High Guard, but it's worth it.  You
get something that you couldn't have made before.  When I saw the
MegaTraveller design rules I was suprised by their length and by how
little they add to play.  Every goodie except sensors was already
available, either in Robots or in Striker.

In High Guard it is easy to preplan.  You find the total of the fixed
displacement components and the total of the percentage based
components.  You only need to allow a few extra power points for weapons
and agility.  This is enough to tell you the size of the hull.  In
MegaTraveller, one must consider control points, mass, volume (in kl),
and power ranging from Kilowatts to Gigawatts.  The best you can do is
take a guess at how big it will be (not easy for someone designing their
first ship).  Then come the goodies, pages of them.  How can you resist
the latest technology? What do you need on your ship? Is the neural
activity sensor really good for anything? How many forms of radios do
you need? What about a robot arm? Can I get my ship to load itself?
After those pages, the margin built in to your guess (assuming you were
lucky enough to have a margin for error) can dissappear, making you
recalculate every volume dependent component.

The design of any small craft under 20 tons has become a special case
under the new rules.  This is important as it is not possible to build a
fighter like the one in the Imperial Encyclopedia.  To see one of the
more obvious flaws, note that the power plant generates 186 Mw, while
the 2 beam lasers consume 250 Mw each when they fire.  Keeping track of
volume and mass while trying to shove enough components into a tiny
package to make a decent vehicle is not a task I enjoy.  Anybody try to
build a special grav vehicle to go with that custom ship?

Combining Striker and High Guard was a mistake.  It is the source of the
problems with (very) small craft, and it adds little of use to the game.
 The weapons and electronics that go into a starship are very different
from those that go into tank.  I doubt I will ever have occasion to
mount a howitzer on a starship, and I don't even want to think about a
tank mounting a UCP T particle accelerator.


-------- TML Message #366 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 366
Date: 15 May 89 14:58 EDT
From: TIHOR@acf7.nyu.edu
Subject: bis


BIS shows up all over Europe to designate the second or upgraded model
of product.  Comes from the same Romance root as Bi- meaning TWO.
I do not recall off hand wether it is French or Latin though.

- -------



-------- TML Message #367 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 367
From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.uu.net!zephyr!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix
Subject: Starship Design
Date: Tue, 16 May 89 9:59:45 BST



>...		 The best you can do is
>take a guess at how big it will be (not easy for someone designing their
>first ship).  Then come the goodies, pages of them.
>...
>After those pages, the margin built in to your guess (assuming you were
>lucky enough to have a margin for error) can dissappear, making you
>recalculate every volume dependent component.

Now you know why the F-16 and F-18, originally supposed to be cheap, light
fighters, got to be big and expensive!

>Combining Striker and High Guard was a mistake.

No, that is a good idea. It is their implementation that may be at fault.
In fact, I always did dislike the High Guard assumption that mass and volume
were always the same; that density is constant for all ship components.
There's another thing I don't like, though. If your ship is big enough, why
can't you have more than one major weapon? Alright, so the main spinal mount
forms the "keel" of the ship. But what's wrong with a battleship having two
factor T meson guns on that keel? Come to that, what about a catamaran-type
design? Or, at the very least, a factor T meson gun and a couple of factor
J guns as secondaries.

> The weapons and electronics that go into a starship are very different
>from those that go into tank.

Not necessarily true. For one thing, according to Mercenary, at high TL's
gunships and SDB's become virtually indistinguishable. And I did design a
vehicle which took the standard starship turret-launched missiles - that
way, it could be re-armed at any starport of adequate TL.

One thing I do like about the new design system is that you can now have
spinal mount, bay mount and turret versions of the same type of weapon in
one ship. In High Guard, you could not have bay mount particle accelerators
and particle accelerator barbettes on the same ship, for example.

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk



-------- TML Message #368 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 368
Date: Wed, 17 May 89 00:14:20 MDT
From: (SULAIMAN) asulaima@udenva.cair.du.edu
Subject: Ship designs



I need a few destroyer class hulls for a Mega Traveller mini-campaign.

Should be less than 5000 tons and atleast greater than 2000t displacement.
No black globes and Tech 15 or less. Price no object. Should preferably
have a small troop complement. If anyone has any designs available 
that meet the req. I would be obliged.

	Thanks.

	Ameer Z. Sulaiman.



-------- TML Message #369 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 369
Date: Wed, 17 May 89 10:26 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Traveller's Aid Society


Greetings fellow Travellers!

I have a basic question.  How do you people play the Traveller's Aid Society?

All my information has come from the MegaTraveller books, and I am 99% ignorant
of what went on in the "original" manuals, so bear that in mind, please.
("New Referee, please do not bruise...")

Things like:

How do you handle day-to-day TAS functioning?

Do members get free lodging at a TAS hostel, or do they pay?

Are non-members allowed to pay for a room?

Every planet cannot have a TAS office- what are your criteria for TAS office
placement?

Anybody have a good layout of a TAS hostel?  Perhaps the one on Regina?  (If
so, would some kind soul post/mail me a copy?)

What kind of political involvement to you allow the TAS, if any?

What kind of services, besides picking up passages, do you offer to players?

For 1 *Million* credits, shouldn't a member have a room-for-life at his 'home'
hostel?   (Think of the classic image in literature of the social clubs in
London.  As an aside- read some P.G. Woodhouse: some great characters to update
and inflict on your players- some very funny NPC material in there!)

(Adrian - do such clubs still exist?)


In short, what *about* the TAS?  Any and all discussion appreciated.

                                  oo
- ---------------------------------m--m-----------------------------------------
Bob Mahoney                           PSC Computer Services, Plymouth NH 03264
BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH                    uucp: [uunet!unh!,dartvax!]psc90!rem




-------- TML Message #370 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 370
From: (Matt Goldman) goldman@ferris.cray.com
Subject: Re: Traveller's Aid Society (fwd)
Date: Fri, 19 May 89 4:16:24 CDT


Forwarded message:

From: goldman (Matt Goldman)
Message-Id: <8905190909.AA11965@ferris.cray.com>
Subject: Re: Traveller's Aid Society
To: 
Date: Fri, 19 May 89 4:09:16 CDT
Cc: goldman
In-Reply-To: <8905171435.AB11424@zephyr.ENS.TEK.COM>; from "B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU" at May 17, 89 10:26 am
Frustration-Level: Very high due to the mailer programme...
X-Mailer: Elm [version 2.1 PL1]

> I have a basic question.  How do you people play the Traveller's Aid Society?
> Things like:

> How do you handle day-to-day TAS functioning?
Players don't get to know that information.  TAS just happens.

> Do members get free lodging at a TAS hostel, or do they pay?
That depends on what part of the galaxy they are currently in, and the
mood of the referee...

> Are non-members allowed to pay for a room?
Depends upon how full the hotel is, who they are with, how much they
appear to be worth, and the mood of the referee.

> Every planet cannot have a TAS office- what are your criteria for TAS office
> placement?
Even though every planet is not able to have a TAS office, there are
many native hotel chains which will give substansial discounts to TAS
members.  Again, this depends on the mood of the referee.
	
> Anybody have a good layout of a TAS hostel?  Perhaps the one on Regina?  (If
> so, would some kind soul post/mail me a copy?)
The last N groups to visit my layout of a hostel (sometimes part of TAS,
sometimes not) have refered to it by many names; TAS hostle, Hotel
California, The Mall, and Hotel of Death, just to name a few.  I don't yet
have the floor plans in machine readable form but if you send me your
address I send you photocopies.

> What kind of political involvement to you allow the TAS, if any?
In the multiverse that I like to romp in, the TAS has very strange
politics.  Very few of my players have discovered that the TAS is run by
some *very* old humans.  No one has yet figured out exactly what the TAS's
goals are.

> What kind of services, besides picking up passages, do you offer to players?
That depends on where the office is located, what the players ask for, what
the NPC's ask for, how much money the players appear to have, and the mood
of the referee.

> For 1 *Million* credits, shouldn't a member have a room-for-life at his 'home'
> hostel?   
Yeah, but it is probably located in a very boring section of the galaxy.

> In short, what *about* the TAS?  Any and all discussion appreciated.
1) The TAS is not an Imperial run organization.
2) The goals of the TAS are as of yet unknown.
3) The TAS has access to a great deal of capital.
4) The TAS has a great deal of political power. (Old boys network)
5) The TAS is beyond the reach of laws.
     (What, you won't do what we say?  No problem.  We'll list you
      planet as an amber travel zone.  That will cut back the honest
      tourists and attract the player character terrorists...)

I hope that's good for starters.

                -Matt (aka Damion Biggs, aka Mike Weston, aka Winston
                       North, aka Otto M. Bond, aka Cmdr Thorndike, and
                       many others...)

P.S. Please let me know if this message went to the wrong address.



-------- TML Message #371 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 371
Subject: Digest Distribution now available!
Date: Mon, 22 May 89 12:22:10 PDT
From: ("James T. Perkins") jamesp@dadla.LA.TEK.com



Hello TML Listees!

As of today I am accepting requests to move people from "instant"
delivery to "digest" delivery.  The current "instant" delivery method
sends TML messages to you as quickly as possible, giving you immediate
feedback on questions you mail to the list, and individual control over
the messages.  The new, "digest" delivery method coalesces 3 days' worth
of messages and sends a single-message "digest" every 3 days; providing
you with less frequent mail interruption, a higher signal-to-noise
ratio, and (unfortunately) slower response to any questions.

Both distribution methods are now running side-by-side; each of you can
choose which method of distribution you want.  Right now all of you are
marked for "instant" delivery *, and will stay that way unless I hear
otherwise.  If you'd like to change to "digest" delivery, just send me
mail requesting the change, and I'll cheerfully do it.

[* - Digest delivery beta-testers are being left as they now are, as
"digest" recipients.  You people know who you are.]

On another topic, list traffic has taken a dip lately.  Everyone must
have gone back to work :-).

James

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
James T. Perkins		    Traveller Mailing List Administrator
Tektronix Digital Systems Division	     "Load Auto/Evade, Beowulf!"
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNET: traveller-request@dadla.la.tek.com
UUCP:	  {uunet,decvax}!tektronix!dadla.la.tek.com!traveller-request



-------- TML Message #372 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 372
Date: Tue, 23 May 89 09:29:24 -0700
From: ("Scott Holter v5.1") evil@blake.acs.washington.edu
Subject: alternate game mechanics for Traveller


At the risk of charges of treason, I must confess that the Traveller
and MegaTraveller game mechanics leave me unsatisfied.  Traveller combat
made a target either automatically hit, or automatically missed --- or
so it seemed.  (Just *try* to hit a character in combat armor with your
wimpy little autopistol.)  Starship combat was even worse:  it was easy,
though expensive, to design a small ship that was impervious to anything
short of a spinal mount meson gun.  (So I'm exaggerating a little....
But not much.)

MT did not fix these things very well.  The new all-purpose task system
is a good idea, but it is a pretty chunky step-function (ie, "granular"
in the popular syntax).

But Traveller has always been a great game not because of its mechanics,
but because of its background.  I like the Imperium.  I like the character
generation, with its inherent way of fleshing out a character history.
I like the "look and feel."

My question:  has anyone had success transplanting another system of
game mechanics into the Traveller universe?  (I have done so with 
a homemade system, with a fair to good level of success.  But it would
be nice to find a commercial system that would work as well.)

- ---Scott Holter                      evil@blake.washington.edu


-------- TML Message #373 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 373
From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.uu.net!zephyr.ENS.TEK.COM!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix.TEK.COM
Subject: Traveller's Aid Society
Date: Wed, 24 May 89 14:56:09 BST



> I have a basic question.  How do you people play the Traveller's Aid Society?
> 
> Things like:
> 
> Do members get free lodging at a TAS hostel, or do they pay?
Free lodging, but such hostels aren't the best accomodation around. They aren't
bad, but they're not usually luxury either.

 
> Are non-members allowed to pay for a room?
Yes.
 
> Every planet cannot have a TAS office- what are your criteria for TAS office
> placement?
It must be within the Imperium. Usually, it should have a decent starport and
a reasonable sized population. Perhaps starport C at least, and population
at least a few thousand.
 
> What kind of political involvement to you allow the TAS, if any?
None.
 
> What kind of services, besides picking up passages, do you offer to players?
For one thing, a place to leave their weapons. Unless you own your own ship,
owning a laser rifle has serious problems if you want to visit a civilised
planet, unless you can find somewhere safe to leave it while you wander around.
 
>(Think of the classic image in literature of the social clubs in London.
>As an aside- read some P.G. Woodhouse: some great characters to update
> and inflict on your players- some very funny NPC material in there!)
> 
> (Adrian - do such clubs still exist?)

I think they exist, though not quite as they used to be. For one thing, women
are now admitted. (Curious, that: no-one objects to women-only clubs.)

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk





-------- TML Message #374 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 374
Date: Wed, 24 May 89 20:57 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Salvage


Hi.

My players have found and repaired a Type J "Seeker".  It was marooned on an
Exile world, the crew having been killed by the Exiles.  It's a little beat-up,
but it flies.

My question is this: How to handle the savlage rights?

There is a good article in the latest _Challange_ on Prize Ships and amount of
prize money that goes to the crew of the capturing vessel.  I am considering
just using the same basic system to handle salvage rights, with a few
modifications.

Can anyone think of some issues I need to consider (Aside from not letting them
get too wealthy...)?

                                  oo
- ---------------------------------m--m-----------------------------------------
Bob Mahoney                           PSC Computer Services, Plymouth NH 03264
BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH                    uucp: [uunet!unh!,dartvax!]psc90!rem




-------- TML Message #375 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 375
Date: Thu, 25 May 89 09:48:31 -0700
From: ("Scott Holter v5.1") evil@blake.acs.washington.edu
Subject: re: salvage


>From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
>Subject: Salvage
>
>My players have found and repaired a Type J "Seeker".
...
>My question is this: How to handle the savlage rights?

Recovery of a "lost" ship has always been a favorite plot device for me.
Here's how I have handled salvage rights.

The Imperium recognizes the right of "finders keepers."  However, Imperial
law requires the new owners of a ship to assume responsibility for any
burden of debt that may rest with it.  Usually, this means the salvagers
must assume or pay off the remaining portion of the purchasing loan.  They
are also liable for any other outstanding fees, fines, or liens against the
ship --- up to the current value of the vessel.

In addition, the salvagers must pay a fee to officially re-register the
ship.  This fee is typically 10% to 30% of the current value of the craft.
(For a quick percentage, multiply the applicable law level by 2%, then add
10%.)  The re-registration can take a while, particularly if there is some
question about the circumstances surrounding the "recovery" of the ship.
(This is a good opportunity for impatient characters to try out their
bribery and/or admin skills, in order to speed the paperwork.)

Note that all this assumes there are no other claimants to the ship.  The
fun of protracted litigation is left as an exercise for the creative GM.

For the Seeker in question, there is probably no outstanding loan.
(Seekers are mostly old ships, so it has probably been paid off already.)
The players should be able to pay the re-registration fee and a few bribes,
and walk away with a ship.  If they lack the necessary capitol, they can
negotiate a new loan (using the ship as collateral) or submit the ship for
auction.  Even with auction and re-registration fees, they should come out
of the deal with something like 40% of the true value of the ship.

If you want to keep then poor, you'll have to rip them off.  Sticky legal
problems are the easy out for the GM.


Scott Holter                             evil@blake.acs.washington.edu

      "You humans are so *stupid*!"  --alien force commander, 
                                       _Plan 9 from Outer Space_



-------- TML Message #376 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 376
From: (Adrian Hurt) uunet.uu.net!zephyr.ENS.TEK.COM!mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@tektronix.TEK.COM
Subject: Salvage
Date: Thu, 25 May 89 11:33:55 BST



Bob Mahoney writes:
> My players have found and repaired a Type J "Seeker".  It was marooned on an
> Exile world, the crew having been killed by the Exiles.  It's a little beat-up
> but it flies.
> 
> My question is this: How to handle the savlage rights?
 
The way I handled this in previous campaigns was that the ship was held in the
nearest A or B class starport for a certain time, and a message circulated to
the effect that it had been found. The owner would have to claim it during that
time, and prove their claim. The bank which had financed the ship could also
put in a claim. If the owner showed up, the ship was handed back and the
finders got a percentage of its cash value, based mainly on its condition. If
no owner showed up, but the bank did, then the finders had the option of taking
over the ship, and making all outstanding payments to the bank; or handing the
ship to the bank, and claiming salvage money as above. If neither owner nor
bank showed up, the finders got the ship. If the ship had some military
significance, the Imperial Navy could intervene and seize the ship, and maybe
pay the finders.

In a campaign in which I was playing, we acquired a Vargr corsair this way. We
were attacked, but captured it, and then went to the nearest Naval base to
register it. We persuaded the Navy to waive the bit about waiting for the
owners to show up, as they were most unlikely to do so! (They were alive - we
released them - but obviously Vargr corsairs would not go to an Imperial base
to claim a corsair ship!)


-------- TML Message #377 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 377
Date: Thu, 25 May 89 10:51:50 EDT
From: ("William B. Morrison") morrison@pyr.gatech.edu
Subject: Star System Digest Update


First things first. I have received *no* traffic regarding system
generation in the past  two weeks. This means that everyone
knows all there is to know about star system generation, that the
current generation system is ideal and supplies all the information
that everyone needs, and that everyone already has their own ideal
computer program to generate systems, planets, shipping lanes, etc.
I'm glad that everyone is happy. (Now that I've lit a few fires under
a few seats, especially my own ;-).

You may remember my mentioning a program for a simulation of *real*
(yes, *real*) star system generation based on an article in the
Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS) called 
'Extrasolar Planetary Systems: a Microcomputer Simulation'. I do
have a copy of this program, but I haven't been able to get it to
run on my Sun-3. I have been in touch with the author of the program
(burdick%hpda@hplabs.hp.com) who has given some ideas on where to
look, but I haven't had the time, and may not in the near future.
The program is repored to work on HP9000/350, Sun-3, and IBM-
compatible PCs (note my earlier warning). This program provides all
sorts of neat information from planetary albedo and axial tilt to
eccentricty of orbit and surface acceleration and everything in between.
If you would like a copy of this program just to have or to try and
fix (the author thought the problem may be in the accretion
routines and the random number routines that are called), let me
know and I'll email a copy. Note that the shar file is about 80K, so
I may have to compress it to get it past mailers with size restrictions
or break it into parts.

- -- Bill Morrison
   Star System Generation Discussion Coordinator
   morrison@pyr.gatech.edu


-------- TML Message #378 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 378
Date: Thu, 25 May 89 10:58:49 EDT
From: (Jim Pendergraft) jimp@dg-rtp.dg.COM
Subject: Re:  Salvage


[This was sent to traveller-request, but obviously was destined for
traveller.  I'm forwarding it.  I also reformatted the long lines and
ran it through the spell checker -- James]

I would let them have the ship, charge them a whopping registration fee
(or it would be like an unregistered car, but with penalties like
confiscation possible) and make them upgrade some equipment to current
standards (maybe a triple cost overhaul - latest comm/safety stuff
required by Imperium) Also, depending on the reactions of the officials,
bribes, and circumstances of the original disappearance, and how well
they documented their find (pictures of it before they moved it, records
of the search for the original crew, etc..) I might impound it for a
long/short while for an investigation (length depending on bribes, admin
skill, friends in high places, etc...).

It could be made into several interesting (or frustrating) encounters.
If they are still too wealthy, it could always have a major breakdown.
Maybe the jump drive has gone bad and needs to be replaced.  This should
be discovered in the overhaul.  (If the players are all ignorant, and
don't get a second opinion, maybe the yard will try to replace something
that works fine, and charge the players.  Or use a defective part.  Or
switch an old broken piece for a good one on their ship).

Or you could just use a pirate to blow a hole in the ship that they
would have to get fixed.  Never any problem separating money from
players.  To be fair though, if they stick out an initial period of
hassles/expenses, then they should be considered to have earned the ship
and shaken out the bugs.  Then let them use it normally.

Jim Pendergraft



-------- TML Message #379 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 379
Date: Thu, 25 May 89 20:46 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Trendy Chemical Gaming Aids?


Player #3:  "OK!  Then I take my dose of Combat Drug, and rush the guard...
             What does it do for me?"

Bob:        "Ah...  Let me see...  I knew I read that somewhere..."

             [15 minutes of frantic searching later...]

Bob:        "I can't find it.  Ok- you *DON't* take your dose of Combat Drug.
             stuff's probably bad for you anyway.  Just shoot the guard, will
             you?"

- --------------

I *thought* I  had seen it.  (Maybe the sun was in my eyes.)

Can anyone point out to me which book details the effect of taking Combat Drug?
Please?  Like a fool, I sold them some of this stuff...


Thanks.
                                  oo
- ---------------------------------m--m-----------------------------------------
Bob Mahoney       Network Manager     PSC Computer Services, Plymouth NH 03264
BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH                    uucp: [uunet!unh!,dartvax!]psc90!rem



-------- TML Message #380 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 380
Date: Fri, 26 May 89 06:41:50 PDT
From: (John Redden) uunet.UUCP!ttidca.TTI.COM!redden@tektronix.TEK.COM
Subject: variant Trav systems


A number of people in the mailing list have suggested some variations to 
GDW Traveller and to MegaTrav.  I have been working on a variant system 
since about 1980.  It keeps a lot of the Trav syntax and simplicity.  If
any of you read the fanzine "A&E" then you will already be quite familiar
with the rules and the campaign background.  Some of the over basics to
the variant which I simply call "Cosmos" are:

* tech levels redfined as technology, energy production, information 
  transfer and culture.

* non-Imperium background with tech level-0 to tech level-40.

* time travel on multiple time lines; including pre big bang and post
  big suck.

* Expanded skills limited by EDU and tech level (similar to MegaTravs
  expanded list).

* Skill improvement based on techlevel.

* Variant psionic system.

* Force science (techno magic) system.

* Massive alternate history for campaign background.

* tiered levels of complexity for starship combat and design from simple
  to complex.

* supporting software written in c to run under most flavors of Unix.

Most of this is on-line from this posting addess and can be sent to the
mailing list if there are enough requests (I would be some work packaging
it).

- -John R.

"Magick has the 2001 effect, it works at the dawn and dusk of technology".




-------- TML Message #381 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 381
Date: Sun, 28 May 89 08:31 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Trendy Chemical Gaming Aids


I asked:

>>   Can anyone point out to me which book details the effect of taking
>>   Combat Drug?  Please?  Like a fool, I sold them some of this
>>   stuff...
>
>Try the Imperial Encyclopedia, p. 67.
>
>Stuart Stirling         silver@emory.mathcs.emory.edu   silver@emory.bitnet
>{decvax,emoryu1,gatech,gt-eedsp,msdc,sbmsg1,sun!sunatl}!emory!silver

Ok...  That's part of what I'm looking for.  The IE says:

"Combat Drug:  Taken by fighters... Prior to combat, this drug increases
personal strength and endurance.  The effect begins 30 seconds after being
taken and lasts for about 10 minutes.  When the effect wears off, the user
suffers 1D in wounds."


What it neglects to say is HOW MUCH it increases your scores in Strength and
Endurance...  It better be more than just one of each, or it won't be worth
risking 6 points of wounds, which would knock *any* of my players out cold!

How do you play it?  Do you use an arbitrary amount of increase, or a variable
die roll?

                                  oo
- ---------------------------------m--m-----------------------------------------
Bob Mahoney                           PSC Computer Services, Plymouth NH 03264
BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH                    uucp: [uunet!unh!,dartvax!]psc90!rem



-------- TML Message #382 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 382
Date: Wed, 31 May 89 15:45:09 EDT
From: (Greg Givler SUPPORT) givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.COM
Subject: Re:  Trendy Chemical Gaming Aids?


>Archive-Message-Number: 379
>From: UNHH.BITNET!B_MAHONE@rutgers.edu
>Subject: Trendy Chemical Gaming Aids?

>I *thought* I  had seen it.  (Maybe the sun was in my eyes.)

>Can anyone point out to me which book details the effect of taking Combat Drug?
>Please?  Like a fool, I sold them some of this stuff...


On page 44 of Book 2, Starships, the old books (2nd edition), it says, and I 
quote:

COMBAT DRUG is taken by fighters (usually military personnel) prior to 
combat. It increases personal strength and endurance each by _two_. The
effect begins two combat rounds after being taken, and lasts for 30 combat
rounds. When the effect wears off, the user receive 1D in wounds.

>Thanks.

Your welcome, sorry it took so long but I just moved and had to find which 
box the Traveller Books were in.

Greg

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Givler                        Q-Link: Commodore
Telecommunications Coordinator     CompuServe: CBM/Support 76703,2047
Commodore Customer Support         INTERNET: givler@cbmvax.uucp
215-436-4200 (Support Line)        OR :::::: givler@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The  knack  of flying is learning how to throw yourself  at  the 
ground and miss. --  Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
=============================================================================




-------- TML Message #383 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 383
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 89 08:21 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Varient trav Systems


John Redden writes:

>A number of people in the mailing list have suggested some variations to
>GDW Traveller and to MegaTrav.  I have been working on a variant system
>since about 1980.  It keeps a lot of the Trav syntax and simplicity.  If
>any of you read the fanzine "A&E" then you will already be quite familiar
>with the rules and the campaign background.  Some of the over basics to
>the variant which I simply call "Cosmos" are:
>.
>.
>.
>
>* Massive alternate history for campaign background.
>
>* supporting software written in c to run under most flavors of Unix.

Well, I'd be interested in seeing some the above.  New ideas are always worth
the bandwidth.
                                  oo
- ---------------------------------m--m-----------------------------------------
Bob Mahoney                           PSC Computer Services, Plymouth NH 03264
BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH                    uucp: [uunet!unh!,dartvax!]psc90!rem



-------- TML Message #384 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 384
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 89 12:25:54 EDT
From: ("William B. Morrison") morrison@pyr.gatech.edu
Subject: Update to real system generation program


The following is an update to the program I recently mentioned that generates
*real* star systems. This update fixes a problem with Suns, but should
be implemented regardless. Many thanks go out to Jonathan Bayer
(ispi!jbayer@uunet.UU.NET) who found the problem and the fix.

The config.h file contains definitions that provide tailoring for
specific hardware and operating systems. This file contains the
following defines:

> #ifdef SUN
> #define LONG_RAND
> #endif

Here is Jonathan's fix:
> I just found your problem on the Sun.  The define shown above is in
> config.h.  However, config.h is included LAST in all the source files.
> Since the LONG_RAND flag is used in consts.h, it is not being used
> properly.  Move all the #include "config.h" to be the first local file
> included and your problem should go away.

Also, Jonathan mentioned that he has some patches for the DOS version
which I will forward as soon as I receive them.

- --Bill Morrison
Star System Generation Discussion Coordinator



-------- TML Message #385 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 385
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 89 07:00:09 PDT
From: (John Redden) redden@ttidca.tti.COM
Subject: Cosmos #1



Trav#1  COSMOS CHARACTER GENERATION 

These rules are house rules for character generation.  They are intended for
tech level 12 humans and humanoids.  There are variations for other tech 
levels and species forms (intelligent machines, so on).  I will try to
post these later.

Tables referenced in this posting will follow later.

- -John Redden

______________________________________________________________________________

Human Species character generation

Method A.  

	Roll the character out of a GDW Traveller book.  Mercenaries
and High Guard are closely inspected.  Scouts are ok. (For aliens
Vargr can be used depending on where the character starts.)  Give it
to the GM for manual converison to League Comos.

Method B.

	Design and Random mix.  First is basic character generation:

	1. The player divides 48 characteristic points among STR, DEX,
END, INT, EDU, and SOC.

2. The new character has a base of 3 skill points to divide among the
skills skills associated with previous experience.  To this base more
points are added depending on the characters INT, EDU or SOC (to which
the player cannot assign more than the species maximum).  If an of
these charcteristics are below 7 then there is no gain but no penalty.

Characteristic advantages for skill pts:
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT		EDU		SOC		number points gained
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7-9		7-8		7-8		1
10-12		9-11		9-10		2
13-14		12-13		11-12		3
15		14		13-14		4
<for each       <for each	<no further	+ 1
 + 1>		 + 1>		 gain>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Roll 4D-3 on Previous Experience Chart #1 (basic).  If an 11 or 12
is rolled on this chart then roll on Previous Experience Chart #2
(extended) or choose the nondescript character (generic label
character).

Those characters with Scout, League Security, Soldier, Sailor,
Colonist automatically get ATHLETICS-1 at no skill point cost.  Skill
points are added to the base amount accrued so far.  The base amont is
then used to choose skills from the Previous Experience Skill Chart.

The highest initial level is 2.  Any chacteristic modifiers are then added
to this level.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Experience Chart #1 (basic)
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number rolled	Background descriptor		Number points gained
1		Scout				3
2		Scout				2
3		Scout				1
4		Dropout/Criminal		1
5		Security			2
6		Security			1
7		Soldier (planetary gov)		2
8		Soldier (League)		1
9		Generic character		1
10		Generic character		0
11		Roll on P.E.C #2 or use Generic (0)
12		Roll on P.E.C #2 or use Generic (0)
13		Merchant			1
14		Sailor (planetary gov)		1
15		Merchant			3
16		Soldier (special forces)	2
17		Sailor (League)			2
18		Sailor (Leauge)			3
19		Mercenary			2
20		Mercenary			3
21		GM special			*

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Experience Chart #2 (extended)
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number rolled	Background descriptor		Number points gained
1		Professional student/Educator	3
2		Professional student/Educator	2
3		Professional student/Educator	1
4		Miner				3
5		Miner				2
6		Miner				1
7		Colonist			4
8		Merchant			2
9		Generic character		1	
10		Generic character		0
11		Generic character		0	
12		Generic character		0	
13		Generic character		0 
14		Colonist			4
15		Scientist			1
16		Scientist			2
17		Scientist			3
18		Media				1
19		Media				2
20		Media				3
21		GM special			*

A GM special might be a charcter that owns a starship, a diplomat with 
league rank, a character that knows magic or psionic skills.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Roll 2D to detemine APP or apparrent physical beauty.  At high(er)
tech levels APP may be adjusted upward (or downward in some odd cases)
for a cost of 1000 CR per point by a surgeon with MEDICAL-4 and the
proper equipment.

5. Roll 2D for FOR or universal force.  All living and some
"nonliving" things have a force binding their relationship to time,
energy and space.  Among other attributes FOR is the characters
ability to manipulate and withstand MAGIC.  A high FOR does not mean
the character knows magic.

6. Roll 3D-3 for base psionic ability.  Psionics are similar but very
different from FOR.  They represents the characters mental will to
effect subtle causation of mental and physical events around them.
PSI (base psionic ability) is used to determine two computed
attributes PSS (PSionic Stamina) and PSR (PSionic Resistance).

   PSS = (2 * PSI) + STR + END
   PSR = (2 * PSI) + INT + END

7. Roll 2D to determine the characters current worth in CR and yearly
(360 days) salary.  Add one to the roll for EACH LEVEL of money
related skill (ADMIN, BARGAINING, BRIBARY, DIPLOMACY, FORGERY,
GAMBLING, LAW, ORATORY, PROPAGANDA).  If a skill is known at LEVEL-0
then a roll of 10+ (ten or greater on 2D for tech level 12, any
character atribute modifiers apply INT, EDU etc.).

   Next add or subtract to the original 2D (not to LEVEL-0 skill rolls
if they are necessary) the modifier from Social (SOC) Dice Modifier
Table.  This now determines the total accured roll.

The entire procedure just outlined is done once for current credit and
one time for yearly salary on Accrued Credit Table

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Social (SOC) Dice Modifier table
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOC		Dice Modifier   Description

- -1 or less	-2 for each 	Character is
		negative pip	considered "insane" at negative value and
 				hardly capable of accrueing wealth.

        0	-6		Border line (dangerous) looney.

	1	-5		Total eccentric.  Has great difficulty
				getting along with others

	2	-4

	3	-3		Eccentric but likeable(?)

	4	-2

	5	-1		Slightly subpar in social graces

	6	0		

	7-8	+1		Likeable person

	9-10	+2		

	11-12	+3		Charismatic aura

	13-14   +4		

	15	+5		Unique attraction to personality

	16+     +1 for each	Trans human social interaction
		pip greater	
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Accrued Credit Table
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Total Accrued		Current Credit		Yearly Salary

	1			1k			3k
	2			2k			4k
	3			5k			6k
	4			8k			7k
	5			9k			8k
	6			11k			9k
	7			13k			11k
	8			15k			13k
	9			17k			15k
	10			23k			25k
	11			31k			40k
	12			40k			75k
	13			50k			100k
	14			60k			140k
	15			75k			180k
	16			100k			225k
	17			150k			275k
	18			200k			300k
	19			300k			.5m
	20			400k			1m
	21			for each add		for each add
				100k			.5m

	Note: k designates 1000, m desginates 1000k
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. Roll 2D to determine the characters age.  Then add or subtract to
the roll using the Age dice modifier table.  Use the total accrued age
to determine age on the Character age table.

- ----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------
Age dice modifier table			|  Character age table
- ----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------
SOC	modifier  EDU	modifier	| Accrued roll		Age in years
- ----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------
1	-5	  1	-5		| -1 for each pt	(1 to 21)
2	-4	  2	-4		| 5			22
3	-3	  3	-3		| 6			23
4	-2	  4	-2		| 7			24
5	-1	  5	-1		| 8			25
6	0	  6-10	0		| 9			26
7-8	1	   			| 10			27
9-10	2	  			| 11			28
11-12	3	  11-12 1		| 12			30
13-14   4	  13			| +1 for each pt 	add 2 to age
+ 1 for		  + 1 for		|
each pt add 1     each pt add 1		|
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Method C.

Extended random design.  Go through steps 1., 2., 3., 4., 5. in Method
B.  Then go through Extended Human Character Generation steps.
Finally go through steps 6., 7. and 8. in Method B to complete the
character.

Method D.

Deliberate design with advantages and disadvantages.  Assign 60 points
to STR, DEX, END, INT, EDU, SOC, FOR, PSI.  Do not go over the species
limit or the limits implied by the current tech level.

Choose a profession from League Cosmos professions list.  Start with a
pool of 5 points.  Apply the points to the characters skills,
characteritics or wealth according to Point allocation table.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Point allocation table
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	character attribute			cost in points

	Skills in profession			.5
	Skills outside of profession		1
	Characteristics (STR, DEX, END, EDU
			 SOC)			1
	Characteristics (INT, FOR, PSI)		2
	Credits in current wealth (per 25k)	1
	Credits in current salary (per 25k)	2
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Then you may "buy" additional points for the character by taking a
number of disadvantages corresponding to the points.  Additional
points to correspond to disadvantage points on a one-to-one basis.  A
character with a 6 disadvantage points is fairly warped and may not be
comfortable for some people to play.  By 9 you may really have a
flamer.

Some disadvantages can be built directly into the design mechanics.
The characters charcteristics (all except APP, which hasn't been added
to the charcter yet) may be traded for skills.  Skill points may be
traded for chracteristics.  Points may be gained by taking negative
skill levels in skills.  Minor skills are worth less than major skills
(minor=.5 pt, major = 1 pt per negative level).

Other disadvantages are built indirectly.  The charcter is a religious
fanatic, has a great fear of hyperspace or even being off a planet, a
person or organization is after them.  In some cases oly the Gaming
Master may know what the charcters disadvantages are.

Last the characters wealth and age are generated.  Start at "10" on
the Accrued Credit Table for Current Credit and Yearly salary.  You
may reduce the number in either column on a 3:1 ratio to make your
charcter poorer in either current money or yearly salary to get
disadvantage points.  For example, the character can get a
disadvantage point by having 13k current credits instead of 23k
current credits.  The salary level may be increased one per .5
disadvantage point spent (this assumes that some are left from skills
and characteristics).  Money related skills DO NOT apply in this
algorithm.

Next choose any age above 21 unless age was used as a disadvantage.

Obviously these designed characters are directly subject Gaming Master
scutiny.

Method E.

Build a character using components from Methods A through D.  Just
explain it to the Gaming Master.

Method F.

Deliberatly design a character with no disadvantages or dice rolling.
This is useful when a certain type of character is needed for a
scenario.  Again subject to direct scrutiny by the Gaming Master.





-------- TML Message #386 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 386
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 89 13:09:11 PDT
From: (John Redden) redden@ttidca.tti.COM
Subject: Cosmos #2


Cosmos #2

Life form stats.  Exotic aliens and machine lifeforms have modified
derivitives of these stats.

___________________________________________________________________________

These are the character charcteristics in Cosmos.  They are a natural
part of each character and are not learned.

    END is a measure of the pain and the body pts threshold for the
        species.  Carnivores, herbivorous mammals and reptiles
        all have a higher END than humans.  Also END represents the mass,
        constitution and hit points to unconsciousness for the species.
	It is possbile for an alien species to have more than one set of
	ENDs.  Damage is usually removed from END first.

        If END is broken into subcatagories END(HP) represents mass and hit
	points and END(PA) represents the pain threshold.

    DEX is a measure of direct damage to the nervous systemic
        threshold of the species.  This is the equivalent of
        secondary shock.  If sufficient damage is suffered the
        PC must obtain modern (tech level 6-8+) medical attention
        or risk the type of shock related death common in lower
        tech levels.  This also brings up the possibility of a
        nasty high tech weapon that destroys DEX but leaves the
        body intact.  It also represents the general quickness, speed 
        and dexderity of the species.  It is possible for an alien species to
   	habe more than one set of DEXs.  Damage is usually removed
	from DEX second.
 	
	If DEX is broken into subcomponents, DEX(NER) represents nervous
	systemic threshold and DEX(AGL) represents the quickness of the
	character.

    STR is a measure of the primary shock threshold.  When damage
        reaches this level the PC must receive regenerative medicine
        (not really available in late 20th century our time).  STR also
        represents the pure physical strength of the species.  Damage is
	usually done to STR last.  It also possible to have an alien species
	with more than one set of STRs.

	If STR is broken down into subcomponents STR(PRI) represents the
	primary shock threshold and STR(PHY) represents physical strength.

    INT is the measure of memory deductive and analytical thinking.  Multiple
        INTs would only exist in a naturally "schizophrenic" being.

    EDU represents the total sum of knowldge and conscious learned behavior.
	It is limited to TECH LEVEL+3 for a given culture.  Multiple EDUs
 	are similar to multiple INTs.

    SOC represents the socialization index of the character.  It also 
        represents the index of unconscious learned behavior.  It is limited
        to TECH LEVEL+3 for a given culture.  Multiple SOCs are similar to
	multiple INTs.

    APP is player asssigned.  Its represents physical presense and beauty.
	In a high tech game APP is purchased.

    FOR is the natural energy rating of the character.

    PSI is base for mental energy of the character.




-------- TML Message #387 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 387
Date: Mon, 12 Jun 89 07:35:08 PDT
From: (John Redden) redden@ttidca.tti.COM
Subject: Cosmos #3



Trav #3  Cosmos character generation.  A continuation of Cosmos
house rules.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Extended random human character generation 

This is a set of companion procedures for those players
that want more detail in their starting character or prefer more
random dice rolls.
______________________________________________________________________________
Character Mass
______________________________________________________________________________
1. Roll 3D to determine charcter mass(size)
                                              
   normalized human  mass    weight    END DEX
   size rating       KG      lbs       DM  DM 
3  5.44              36      80        -4  +2 
4  5.64              41      90        -3  +1 
5  5.8               45      100       -2     
6  6.0               50      110       -1     
7  6.08              54      120              
8  6.18              59      130              
9  6.22              61      135              
10 6.26              63      140              
11 6.32              66      145              
12 6.36              68      150              
13 6.4               70      155              
14 6.42              72      160              
15 6.64              82      210       +1     
16 6.9               95      210       +2     
17 7.14              114     250       +3  -1 
18 7.36              136     300       +4  -2 

An average human and animal (or alien) with the same mass should have 
approximately the same hit points to unconsciousness.  Fatigue points
are optional.  If fatigue points are used there are two counts versus
END, not just one.  Obviously there are a nubmer of mechanized armors that
eliminate all fatigue point loss.

    The END DM modifies the number of END points assigned to the characters by
the player.  If the characters END or DEX goes below 2 or above F use the
DM against STR.  If the case comes up where both END and/or STR and/or DEX is
2 or F then the modifier is lost.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Gravity Pull of Homeworld
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Roll 2D to determine the Gs of the PCs
   home(childhood) environment.   Discussion:

   Home world  STR D END DM       DMs for the characters homeworld conform
   G range                        to DM limits for PC mass.  If STR
                                  goes below 2 and a negative DM is
2  (-).2-.218  -4     -2          rolled it is subtracted from END.
3  .219-.236   -3     -1          If STR is at F and a positive DM
4  .237-.545   -2                 is rolled, it is added to END.
5  .546-.727   -1                 If STR and END are both F and a
6  .728-.909                      positive DM is rolled then the
7  .910-1.099                     DM is lost.  If STR and END are
8  1.1-1.272                      both 2 then the penalty is ignored.
9  1.272-1.454 +1
10 1.455-1.636 +2
11 1.637-1.818 +3     +1
12 1.819(+)    +4     +2


_____________________________________________________________________________
Characters Genetic Engineering
_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Roll 2D six times (one time for each characteristic) to determine the
   effect of the genetic engineer at the characters 'birth-gen'.

    (APP DM)*    INT DM    END DM    DEX DM    STR DM    SOC DM
2   -4           -2        -2        -1        -1        -1
3   -3           -2        -1        -1        -1
4   -2           -1        -1                  -1
5   -1           -1
6    Natural conception, no genetic engineer, no Dice Modifier
7    Genetic engineer changed nothing at 'birth-gen', no DM
8   +1           +1
9   +2           +1        +1
10  +3           +2        +1                  +1
11  +4           +2        +1        +1        +1
12  +5           +2        +2        +1        +1        +1

Discussion: Genetic engineers focus on certain preconditions thus the
INT characteristic is likely to be altered.  APP is the easiest to
change and also the easiest to change the wrong way.  After
programming these the genetic engineer attempts to alter END, STR and
DEX.  There is a slight chance that genetic makeup will alter the PCs
social behavior (SOC).  Genetic factors do not influence EDU (EDU is
100% learned behavior for gaming purposes).  The average tech level
for genetic engineering in League Cosmos is 12.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Character Background by Planetary Type
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. Roll 4D to determine planetary type of characters home (childhood)
   environment.

   Environment #adv #dis     Seasonal   #adv #dis     Population #adv #dis
   descriptor  apps apps     descriptor apps apps     descriptor apps apps
4      1        1    1           9       -     -          12      -    -
5      2        2    1           7       -     -          11      1    1
6      3        1    1           7       -     -          11      1    1
7      3        1    1           8       1     1          10      1    1
8      4        1    1           7       -     -          10      1    1
9      5        -    -           6       1     1          10      1    1
10     5        -    -           7       -     -          10      2    2
11     5        -    -           7       -     -          11      1    2
12     5        -    -           7       -     -          11      1    1
13     5        -    -           6       2     2          11      1    1
14     5        -    -           7       -     -          11      -    -
15     5        -    -           7       -     -          11      3    3
16     5        -    -           7       -     -          11      1    1
17     5        -    -           7       -     -          10      2    1
18     5        -    -           6       1     1          11      2    2
19     5        -    -           7       -     -          10      1    1
20     3        1    1           7       -     -          10      1    1
21     2        3    1           7       -     -          10      1    1
22     5        1    1           8       1     1          11      1    1
23     4        1    1           7       -     -          11      1    1
24     1        2    2           9       -     -          12      -    -

Environment Descriptors

1. Artificial- is supported by a life support system. characters that
come from this background tend to be trained in skills that don't
require open space or randomized social interaction.  Martial arts may
seem foreign to them.  Learned behavior is intensified.

 adv apps: EDU characteristic, ADMIN, CHEM, COMP, ELECT, ENGINEER,
              GRAV, LAW, LING, MATH, MEDICAL, MUSIC, PHARM, PHYSICS, WRITING,
              VACC SUIT.


 dis apps: ATHLETICS, BRAWL, GUN CBT, RIDING, SKIING, SOC SCIENCE,
              STREETWISE, SWIMMING.

2. Hydroplanet- The environment is water.  For standard TRAV assume
90% water or better.  As such certain skills are distant to the
character.

    adv apps: ATHLETICS (water sports), SWIMMING, VEHICLE (water only).

    dis apps: ATHLETICS (nonwater sports), JUMPING, RIDING, SKIING (for
               those planets without extreme seasonality), VEHICLE
               (nonwater).

3. Arid planet- In this environment water is a rarity.  Characterss
from this environment are used to uniformity and quietude.  Silent
movement comes natural to them.

    adv apps: STEALTH, SURVIVAL, VEHICLE (air only), WILDERNESS CAMO,
              WILDERNESS TRACKING.

    dis apps: SKIING, SWIMMING, VEHICLE (land or water).

4. Hydro vegetation planet- has an abundance of water and plant life.
characters from this environment are used to easy camouflage in
natural cover.  Silence dosn't always seem necessary to hide oneself.

    adv apps: BIOLOGY, BONTANY, SWIMMING, VEHICLE(water and air only).

    dis apps: STEALTH, VEHICLE(ground only), WILDERNESS CAMO.

5. Typical ecological environment-

    adv apps: none.

    dis apps: none.

Seasonal Descriptors

6. No planetary seasonality- characters that originate from a planet
with a lack of seasonality tend to be somewhat bored and 'epicurian'.
They tend not to notice certain subtle changes in the environment.

    adv apps: ACTING, ARTIST, ATHLETICS, DIPLOMACY, FORGERY, GAMBLING,
              HIDE ITEM, MUSIC, ORATORY, POETRY, SLIGHT OF HAND, WRITING.

    dis apps: PERCEPTION, PLANETOLOGY, SKIING(if not a cold planet),
              SURVIVAL.

7. Typical planetary seasonality-
 
   adv apps: none.

   dis apps: none.

8. Extreme planetary seasonality- is caused by eccentric orbits and/or
axial tilt and/or uneven star energy output.  Because of the harsh
conditions the penchant towards the arts is lacking in their behavior.

    adv apps: CHEM, LEADER, PLANETOLOGY, SURVIVAL, SWIMMING, SKIING,
              WILDERNESS CAMO, WILDERNESS TRACKING.

    dis apps: ACTING, ARTIST, MUSIC, POETRY, WRITING.

9. Artificial seasonality-
    adv apps: none.
    dis apps: none.

Population Descriptors

10. Sparse population- does not include large cities per se.  These
characters tend to be 'hickish' in their behavior.

    adv apps: BARGAINING, BLADE CBT, BRAWLING, CLIMBING, JUMPING, RIDING,
              SURVIVAL, WILDERNESS CAMO, WILDERNESS TRACK.

    dis apps: ADMIN, ARTS OF LOVE, LAW, PROPAGANDA, SOCIAL SCIENCE,
              STREETWISE, URBAN CAMO.



11. Medium to dense population- characters from this environment are
familiar with large cities.

    adv apps: ADMIN, ARTS OF LOVE, CAROUSING, FORGERY, LAW, PROPAGANDA,
              STREETWISE, URBAN CAMO.

    dis apps: RIDING, SURVIVAL, WILDERNESS CAMO, WILDERNESS TRACK.

12. Clinical population- this environment is synonymous with an
artificial environment.

    adv apps: none.

    dis apps: none.

Discussion: Advantage applications derived from character background
are added to existing or become new skills.  Disadvantage applications
are subtracted from skills already assigned by the player.  If a skill
is reduced below level 1 it goes to level 0.  If the skill is
further reduced it stays at level 0.  A unit of an advantage
application starts at skill level 1 not at skill level 0.  In some
cases character characteristics themselves are augmentedor diminished.
They cannot be raised above the species maximum or below 2.





-------- TML Message #388 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 388
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 89 09:30 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: What sort of campaign are we running here, anyway?


Good [morning...evening]!

As a newcomer to Traveller, I was wondering where all you folks situate your
campaigns.  I started with the MegaTraveller release, and I am content to use
the "Shattered Imperium" as a large-scale backdrop for my campaign.  This way I
can concentrate my creative energies on the smaller things that will mean more
to the players.

(You know, running an AD&D game was EASY-  One planet, a few parallel
realities, horses instead of spaceships...  Only the teleporters and the
probability travellers ever gave me any trouble.  Now I have to work.)

Is anyone else using the MT Rebellion senario?  How do the players like it?
Where are they based?  Considering the GDW-supplied timeline, what date is it
in your campaign?

                                                       -Bob
                                  ..
- ---------------------------------m--m-----------------------------------------
Bob Mahoney                           PSC Computer Services, Plymouth NH 03264
BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH                                INTERNET: rem@psc90.UUCP




-------- TML Message #389 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 389
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 89 18:30:43 MDT
From: (SULAIMAN) asulaima@udenva.cair.du.edu
Subject: Ships for Mt



Well here is the first one. All costs show 80% discount for volume.
This particular ship can be easily used as a tech 13 variant of the TL15
A2 given in Encyclopedia.

- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


		Vargr ZHOUDERR class Trader

CraftID:	Vargr Far Trader, Type VA, TL 13, MCr 67.24
Hull:		180/450, Disp=200t, Conf=1SL, Armor=40F
		Unloaded=2113t, Loaded=3136t.
Power:		12/23, Fusion=1530Mw, Dur=25/75
Loco:		9/18, Man=2G, 6/11, Jump=2
		NOE=170kph, Cruise=750kph, Top=1000kph
		Agility=0
Commo:		Radio=Systx2
Sensors:	Act EMS=FarOrbit, PassEMS=Interst.
		ActObjScan=Rout, ActObjPin=Rout
		PasEngScan=Rout
Off:		Beam Laser=xx2
			     2
			     2
Def: 		DefDM=+3
Control:	Comp=Model 2x3, Panel=DynLinkx550, Special=HUDx3
Accom:		Crew=5(Bridge=2, Engineer/Gunn=2, Medic=1)
		Small Staterooms=5
Other:		Cargo=958.5kl, Fuel=915kl
		Purif Plant, Fuel Scoops
		ObjSize=Ave, EMLevel=Mod


Comments:	The ships is typical of Vargr trader ships inside the Extents
		and operating on the frontier regions of the Imperium.
		The Zhouderr class is a common interface vessel routinely
		seen inside the Imperium wherever trade with the Extents is
		quite common. Armament varies from 2-pulse lasers to 
		twin triple missile to twin triple sand depending on cost
		and gunners available.



- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ameer Z. Sulaiman.



-------- TML Message #390 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 390
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 89 18:13:36 MDT
From: (SULAIMAN) asulaima@udenva.cair.du.edu
Subject: Ships for MT



As I have heard little or no response on my request for posting ship
designs, I have decided to put up a few. In general these are recognizable
as MT conversions of Trav or High Guard designs so they should not be a big
problem to set in. As ther are quite a few TL15 ships out there the ships will
in general be TL 13 or less. I would appreciate some e-mail acknowledgement
if u intend to use these ships. It would tell me if there is any need of these
or if I'm just wasting my time.

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vargr ZHOUDERR class Trader




-------- TML Message #391 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 391
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 89 14:31:13-1000
From: (Glenn Fernandez) glenn@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu
Subject: Ship conversions


I have'nt check it yet, but do you need to convert traveller ships to 
Megatraveller ships for them to work properly?

thanks in advance.

Glenn Fernandez
University of Hawaii
Computing Center
Have world, will populate!




-------- TML Message #392 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 392
Subject: 
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 89 08:08:47 PDT
From: (John Redden) redden@ttidca.tti.COM



Cosmos #4; A continuation of Cosmos Trav derived house rules

________________________________________________________________________

Skill Usage in COSMOS

The skill based system and the simplicity of the dice rolling
conventions are features that attracted me to TRAV.  The distance
between the skills (or what is called the cascade effect) in the
network determines its difficulty depending on the PCs background.

    There are several paradigms implied in Cosmos skill system.  The
first is what you could call a 'tree' structure.  In this case a
generalized skill becomes a specialized skill in the next node 'down'.
A specialized skill has the header SUBSKILL in the skill descriptions.
The second paradigm is what you could call a 'network' structure.  In
this case skills are related (in either physical, Tech Level or
Cultural terms) to other kills.  In the skill descriptions SKILL
ASSOCIATIONS makes reference to the network attribute of a skill.
Many of these associations are cultural instead of technological.

    Notice that there is an associative function of combining of two
or more skills to make a generalized skill and a dissasociative
function of reducing skills to two or more atomic skills.  Also notice
that some skill combinations form skills that are obscure or
nonsensical.  These skills could be a tool for the GM to generate
attributes for alien cultures.  If a player wants a Character with
ASSASSIN-1 (a new skill to this list) they would first learn
ASSASSIN-0 (not very useful) and then learn ASSASSIN-1 and gain
ACTING-0, BRIBERY-0, CLIMBING-0, FORGERY-0, HIDE ITEM-0, etc.  Before
the Character could learn ASSASSIN-2 they would have to learn
ACTING-1, BRIBERY-1, and so on.  Can anybody out there guess what
associations to use for PHILOSOPHER (*snicker*)-1?  A very old
Character could have BEING-n where BEING is the total generalized set
of skills knowable by the given society.  MAGIC and PSIONICS are
treated differently because of their causal agents (they are effect
based *and* skill based).  MAGIC and PSIONICS are more common in a
continuum of existence where the transformation of energy into matter
takes place in a short amount of "time".  In Cosmos continuum the
transformation of matter into energy is commonplace (in a short amount
of "time") so MAGIC and PSIONICS are associated to BEING (and
NOTHINGNESS?).  Once learned (as you might guess) MAGIC is associated
to other skills to form "schools": MAGIC+PSYCHOLOGY, MAGIC+PHYSICS,
MAGIC+BIOLOGY, MAGIC+WRITING, so on.  Maybe JEDI KNIGHT-2 = MAGIC-1 +
PSIONICS-1 + BEING-1 ?  At extremely high tech levels the
transformations of energy and matter over a period of time is common
place so technological and magical skills are indistinguishable ( a
corollary of Clarks Law?).

    Some skills lend themselves to a large number of subskills.  The
obvious examples are skills like VEHICLE, GUN CBT, etc.  The distance
between the generalized skill ("root" node) and the specialized skill
("branch" node) is still 1, however it is easier for a Character to
learn a SUBSKILL than an ASSOCIATED skill.

    The makeup of a semantic network for any given species are
objective factors (the physics of the time-space-matter-energy
continuum... presumably the same for all species), subjective factors
(the species natural history and collective learned behavior), and the
tech level of the species, a combination of the first two.  Therefore,
the network implied for League Cosmos skills is different for higher
and lower tech levels and different for an alien species.  (for
example, the ANASI would never have MATH-2 without LAW-2 and SOCIAL
SCIENCE-1; Note the Anasi are an alien species at about tech level 24
that consider all activity subject to legal contracts).

      As an option we use negative skill levels for Characters that
attempt improvement of their skills and fail with a fumble.  They are
considered to have a psychological block against learning and using
the skill.  Their success roll goes to 12+.  Thus such a character with
GUN-CBT(-1) has a psychological fear of guns.

Cosmos Skill Usage Dice Rolling Conventions

Saves vrs. EDU:

	Common knowledge skills such as knowing how to operate the
local Media Comm Network, how to turn on a tech unit, recognizing a
grav driven LEV, knowing a particular video magazine name etc.,
typically is a save vrs.  EDU on 3D.  Positive and negative DMs are
applied according to the difficulty of the roll.  The difficulty level
of EDU saves at 3D+2 is equivalent to STREETWISE-0, SOCIAL SIENCE-0,
MATH-0, HISTORY-0, etc.

Saves vrs STR, END, and DEX:

	Common physical skills have similar mechanics to those that
are knowledge based.  The difficulty level at 3D+2 is equivalent to
ATHLETICS-0, JUMP-0, etc.

Skills before Tech Level Zero

	Pre intelligent or animal skills are possible and numerous.  
BITE-2, RUNNING-6, JUMP-5, FLY-2 are examples.

Skills with EDU as component

	Skills that have EDU as a modifier are subject to tech level
limitations.  This usually means that trying to get a skill greater than:

(Tech Level)/2   

is research.  Thus the character would be trying to temporarily or
permanently increase the tech level.



-------- TML Message #393 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 393
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 89 18:06 EST
From: METLAY@vms.cis.pittsburgh.edu
Subject: [New Listee Introduction] hi there


[This letter was sent to me, but the author asked me to edit it and
resend apropriate portions to the list.  Welcome aboard, Mike! -- James]

...

1. My full name's Michael Metlay; I go by "metlay" on the Net for brevity's
   sake. My authorship name is usually either "metlay" or "Mike Metlay;" my
   contributions to the GDW rules-base usually use the latter. I've been
   published four times by GDW: twice in the old JTAS (and reprinted in BEST
   OF JTAS #2), once in THE TRAVELLER BOOK, and they gave me a byline in the
   MegaTraveller Imperial Encyclopedia, more as a thank you than a credit.
   I suppose there are folx on the mailing list with much more impressive
   resumes than that, but what the hey, every little bit helps. |-> I'm a
   nuclear physics grad student by profession, and have been running and
   writing for Traveller since early 1978. These days, my music and my fiancee
   take up a lot of my time, but I stay active in gaming as much as possible.

2. I can answer technically-oriented questions on the following subjects with
   a reasonable degree of authority, should someone need help: physics of
   all kinds, some chemistry and biology, real-world history, space science,
   probability theory and obscure Traveller-mythos trivia. I am NOT a rules
   lawyer, and cannot answer questions on rules technicalities. If someone
   needs a librarian service, I own every item ever sold by GDW on Traveller
   and most of the non-GDW ones, particularly from before the MegaTraveller
   switchover, and will be glad to look stuff up for people. Xeroxing of rare
   texts can be done, but only on a limited basis and only if the requestor
   covers my copy fees and postage.

3. If at all possible, I prefer that mail be sent to me at 
   "metlay@vms.cis.pittsburgh.EDU", ...

4. I have run Traveller events at every GenCon since 1984; the Near Miss
   events spark a lot of return interest and may be published by Digest Group
   if I can get lucky. This year's event is NEAR MISS VI: RADIO FREE TERRA
   and should be announced in the GenCon Preregistration pamphlet.

5. I have a sick sense of humor, and I hope I don't offend anyone inadvertantly.

(ouch--misspelled that. "inadvertently." Sorry.)

6. I haven't had the chance to look over the bundled digests yet, but if you 
   don't mind I'd like to inquire after one particular item: supposedly there
   exists a complete UPP listing for the Atlas of the Imperium, as officially
   utilized by GDW and Digest Group. Can anyone tell me how to get a copy,
   and if I find it on my own, would anyone like it?

...  Please feel free to broadcast this note or portions thereof if you
feel they're relevant to the list.

Dim the lights, [and prepare for jump -- James]

metlay



-------- TML Message #394 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 394
From: (Adrian Hurt) adrian%cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Subject: Miniatures
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 89 10:14:07 BST



Mike Metlay writes:

>	  If someone
>   needs a librarian service, I own every item ever sold by GDW on Traveller
>   and most of the non-GDW ones, particularly from before the MegaTraveller
>   switchover, and will be glad to look stuff up for people.

Do you (or anyone else, for that matter) know if I can get hold of miniatures
of Zhodani, or of Imperial military figures? Preferably 15mm, so I can use them
with ship deck plans. I know of Grenadier's 25mm Imperial marines, but haven't
bought them for that reason. I also know of the cardboard figures, but I'd
prefer something 3-D.

>5. I have a sick sense of humor, and I hope I don't offend anyone inadvertantly
>
>(ouch--misspelled that. "inadvertently." Sorry.)

Can't you use some sort of delete key? This is NOT a flame, I often make typing
errors, but I can correct them if I spot them. I'm just wondering if some
people have genuine reasons for not being able to do so.

Next, a more Traveller-based question. Given all the current fears about what a
nuclear war would do (e.g. nuclear winter), could a naval force, e.g. a battle
squadron, effectively destroy a planet by using a few salvoes of nuclear
missiles? If so, is this accounted for in any account of the Frontier Wars or
any other wars? Is it provided for in any rules?

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk



-------- TML Message #395 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 395
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 89 08:54 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Scoutstuff


Hello, hello...

Why don't the Scouts in the Field have rank?  I would think that as a
quasi-military arm of the Imperial government, that they would have an internal
structure of ranks and responsibilities.  (The US Coast Guard is under the
Dept. of Transportation, at least in peacetime, and they have a military-style
structure...)

Before I make a "house rule" that changes this, can anybody make a good case
for IISS personnel not having some form of field rank?

                                                  -Bob
                                  @O
- ---------------------------------m--m-----------------------------------------
Bob Mahoney                           PSC Computer Services, Plymouth NH 03264
BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH                    uucp: [uunet!unh!,dartvax!]psc90!rem




-------- TML Message #396 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 396
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 89 08:49:45 PDT
From: (John Redden) redden@ttidca.tti.COM
Subject: Origins? Westercon?


Are any of you on the Trav mailing list going to Origins or Westercon next
week?  

- -John R.



-------- TML Message #397 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 397
Subject: 
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 89 08:36:28 PDT
From: (John Redden) redden@ttidca.tti.COM



Cosmos #5  in a series of house rules for a Trav based variant.

__________________________________________________________________________


SKILL IMPROVEMENT for Cosmos.

1.  The player elects a skill that each character is studying.  During the
    study period (usually determined by the tech level and invironment) the
    character has the new skill at LEVEL-0.  To learn a skill the PC must have
    the means at hand.  These could be LIBRARY programs, SIMULATOR programs,
    carefully designated practice steps or direct guidence with another 
    character with INSTRUCTION and the skill being studied.
    Common sense comes into play here.  You can't study GUNNER stranded
    on an low tech level planet but you certainly could study
    STREETWISE or SURVIVAL.  MAGIC and PSI are virtually impossible
    to learn without a defacto instructor (real, ancient ritual or
    otherwise).  NOTHINGNESS also has a special learning technique
    (see its skill description).

2.  The player can elect to improve an existing skill level INSTEAD
    of learning a new one.

3.  Normally the character only studies ONE skill at a time (as mentioned in
    1.), however MAGIC, PSI and NOTHINGNESS can be studied while
    another mundane skill is being studied due to their unusual
    properties.

4.  Normally the tech level will determine the study period:

       Tech level 0-2	  180 days
       Tech level 3-10	  90 days
       Tech level 11-18	  45 days
       Tech level 19-26	  30 days
       Tech level 27-31   15 days

    The dice roll to determine if the character increases the skill:
    
        7[+(new skill level)-(number times attempted and failed)-
          (skill use dice modifier)-(instructors level dice modifier)-(INT
          dice modifier)-(EDU dice modifier)]+

    on 2Dice

    The greater "new skill level" the more difficult the roll is.  The other
    dice modifiers make the roll easier.

    The skill level is a number between 1 and n.  In theory n is
    infinite but in practice is limited by the tech level and EDU
    level of the society in question.  The number of times attempted
    is recorded on the character sheet for each character by the player for
    each failure at a skill.  Thus the chance to increase a skill
    level decreases each study period.  The skill use dice modifier is the
    number of time the character used the skill DURING the study period.
    It is limited to THREE.  Usages above 3 are not counted as dice modifiers.
    The instructors level dice modifier counts if the character was studying
    with an instructor with INSTRUCT skill AND the skill the character is 
    studying.   The instructors level dice modifier is applied only if the
    INSTRUCT skill roll is made.  The normal difficulty procedure applies to
    the instructor rolling their skill.  The INT dice modifier is based on
    the characters INT:

         2-5 = -1; 6-9 = 0; A-D = +1; E-(E+3) = +2; for each 3 pts >
         (E+3) = +1

    The EDU dice modifier is based on the characters EDU:

         2-5 = -1; 6-B = 0; C-E = +1; F-(F+3) = +2; for each 3 pts >
         (F+3) = +1

5.  Skill levels run:   ...-2,-1,<null>,0,1,2,3,4,5,6...

6.  If the player rolls a 2 when trying to increase the characters skill level
    it is ALWAYS a failure.  The player subsequently tries to roll the
    current skill level.  If that fails then the character goes DOWN a level.
    If the current skill level is zero then the character has the skill at
    a negative level and has a psychological block against learning
    that particular skill.  If the character is successfully 'cured' by
    another with PSYCH (or possibly SOC SCI) then the level returns
    to zero NOT <null>.  A character with a negative skill cannot substitute
    a save vrs. one the characters characteristics for zero level.

7.  For failures to count for increasing a skill level the studying
    of that skill does not have to be consecutive.  This means that
    ORATORY-2 can be studied then GROUND CAR-1 and then ORATORY-2 again
    and have the failures count.

8.  Successful usages of the skill ONLY count while the character is studying
    it.

9.  Skills can also be learned while trying to increase EDU (see
    increasing character characteristics).

    Discussion:  The ability to learn, how fast one can learn, how much
    information is available to a given society and how fast one can get
    to it all determines the TECH LEVEL for that society.
    In addition to these components the INT of species may have been
    increased via bioengineering and their may be a symbiotic relationship
    between the species and its machine systems.  The common existence
    of PSI would have an enormous impact on learning.  All these components
    are taken into account when designing the semantic network for the
    species skills and HOW FAST they can learn them.  Notice here that
    League Cosmos must know a lot more about the learning process ITSELF
    In League Cosmos without a human instructor
    assuming you had a small computer with a library program and a few
    subconscious programming tapes if you knew little about MATH you
    could learn the basics of algebra and calculus in as little as 45
    days.  Tech level 11 is as a normalization point for obvious
    reasons.  In tech level 10 not only would the semantic network of
    skills for the same species change somewhat but it would take you
    longer to learn skills.  

CHARACTER CHARACTERISTIC IMPROVEMENT for Cosmos

1.  Instead of a skill the character can elect to improve STR, DEX or END.
    This comes about through rigidly controlled diet, programs for body
    building and graceful movement, computer aided learning and an
    expected minimum amount of medical supervision.  The time required
    is the same as skills.  At the end of the training period a character
    characteristic improvement roll is made:

    (3Dice - current character characteristic) (+ (number of fails) +
      instructor skill))-  

    on 3Dice.

2. Unlike the skills, for the number of fails to apply to the character
   characteristic increase, the training periods MUST be consecutive.

3. Alternatively the player can choose to improve STR, DEX or END
   by direct intervention of another character with MEDICAL skill.  The
   difficulty of the roll is commensurate with new character characteristics:

    8 (+ new character characteristic - character medical skill level)+

   The greater the characteristic the more difficult the roll.   The greater
   the skill of the medical system the easier the roll.

4. A player can elect to try to increase a characters INT.  When this
   attempt is made NOTHING ELSE can be done while the MEDICAL type
   works on the character.  Increasing the brain power is dangerous and
   should not be taken lightly.  Failures can cause unpredictable
   results and fumbles are disastrous, usually removing the character from
   play.  The MEDICAL difficulty roll:is:

    10 (+ new character INT - character medical skill level)+

   The greater the INT the more difficult the roll.   The greater
   the skill of the medical system the easier the roll.

   The minimum time envolved is 45 days at a tech level 12 medical center.

5.  A player can elect to increase the characters EDU.  To do this the 
    character must enroll in one of many League or planet run schools.  The
    total amount of actual time in school must be a 180 actual day
    period (at tech level 12).  Going half time would double the amount of real
    time.
    The character must be in routine contact with the instructors so normally
    EDU CANNOT be increased on a starship.  While in school the character
    is allowed (tech level - 4) skill increase rolls in addition to the EDU
    increase roll:

   8 (+ new character EDU - character instructor skill level - number fails)+

   on 3Dice

   The greater the EDU the more difficult the roll.   The greater
   the skill of the instructor system the easier the roll.  The number of fails
   in this case DO NOT have to be consecutive and each failure makes the roll
   easier.

   Also cultural, economic and environmental factors can effect the basis for
   EDU.

6. Increasing or decreasing a characters SOC depends on what the character
   does in the game (and on the subjectivity of the game master).

7. Increasing or decreasing APP is trivial.  The medical cost is payed.

8. Increasing PSI in a character is a mystery.

9. Increasing FOR is described in Cosmos magic (force science).








-------- TML Message #398 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 398
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 89 16:12 EDT
From: B_MAHONE%UNHH.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Nuclear Warfare in Space


Adrian Hurt asks:

>Next, a more Traveller-based question. Given all the current fears about what a
>nuclear war would do (e.g. nuclear winter), could a naval force, e.g. a battle
>squadron, effectively destroy a planet by using a few salvoes of nuclear
>missiles? If so, is this accounted for in any account of the Frontier Wars or
>any other wars? Is it provided for in any rules?

In the latest issue of _Challenge_, there is a "courier" senario, in which a
number of background/flavor elements are included.  One of these mentions that
Lucan has ordered his admirals not to surrender any High Population worlds.

There is a later mention of an admiral ordering the nuclear bobmardment of a
world he was about to lose to advancing forces, in order to change the world's
status so that it was *no longer* a High Population world...  He is awarded the
"Starburst for Extreme Heroism" by Lucan.   (*Nice* people!)

As an aside, I never received any answers to my earlier question:
Is anyone else using the GDW "Shattered Imperium" campaign background?

(PS- Welcome to Mike Metlay!  I liked to rec.games.frp "Near Miss" posting...)

                                  oo
- ---------------------------------m--m-----------------------------------------
Bob Mahoney                           PSC Computer Services, Plymouth NH 03264
BITNET: B_MAHONEY@UNHH                    uucp: [uunet!unh!,dartvax!]psc90!rem





-------- TML Message #399 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 399
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 89 15:40:12 -0500
From: uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!zephyr.ENS.TEK.COM!gslisa!gsliss!jcunning@tektronix.TEK.COM
Subject: miniatures & nuclear war


[I edited this message to fix some nasty terminal escape sequences that
appeared.  I try to avoid editing since I believe in free speech, but I
don't want 150-character lines of garbage going out if I can stop it.
- -- James]

Martian Metals, which burned down in 1982 or 83 and the remnants of
which are now part of FASA, made a whole series of Traveller figures
from Aslan to Zhodani. You might try some of the more obscure distributors
in the business (notably Lou Zohichi (or however you spell that)),but
expect to pay a good buck.

As far as nuclear missiles go, a few sources come to mind: !.  Special
Supplement 2, published in Journal 18(?) should help explain that.
Striker, if you can get a copy, goes into extensive detail on the
subject of interfacing ground and ship combat.  Striker is out of print,
but last I heard GDW still has some copies around the warehouse but no
boxes for them.  They were willing to sell them last I heard.  Write
them for details.

3. See The Referee's Companion for more info.


As I don't have access to these materials as I type, I'm not certain
about the above, and as Mike said, graduate studies don't allow much
time for Traveller any more.  God knows if I'll ever get to finishing,
if ever.  Sigh.


					Jim Cunningham
					Traveller Relic

The Traveller Mailing List is a courtesy of James Perkins and Tektronix, Inc.
All opinions and material above is the responsibility of the originator.
Send Submissions To: @RELAY.CS.NET:traveller@dadla.LA.TEK.COM,
	uunet!dadla.la.tek.com!traveller, or traveller@dadla.la.tek.com
List Administrator: traveller-request@dadla.la.tek.com

-------- TML Message #400 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 400
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 89 09:17:35 -0400
From: zephyr.ENS.TEK.COM!uunet.uu.net!zephyr.ENS.TEK.COM!att!ihlpf!zonker@tektronix.TEK.COM
Subject: Miniatures


Currently I don't think anyone is actively manufactureing 15mm space
figures.  The five lines I know of are all out of production.  The lines
are:
		Citadel
		Grenadier
		Laserburn
		Martian Metals		
		Star????

The best Traveller figures were the Citadel ones (this was the licensed
line for England).  It had limited availability in this country after
Martian Metals burned and were withdrawn from production due to the American
license company (which never actually produced figures).  They produced
packs of 20 different figures each of: Adventurers, Military (you could also
get low, mid and high tech packs), Ship's Crew, Aliens (you could also get
Aslan, Droyne and Vargyr packs).  Figures were very well animated and
detailed.  These were actually produced in Canada by RAFM and so even after
they were withdrawn from sale here they were available without too much effort.
Grenadier figures while not specificially for Traveller made a number of usable
figures (including my nefarious Thought Police with police van).
Laserburn was again not for Traveller, but made numerous useful figures.  I use
a number of these for my vehicle crews and adventurers.  The figure were
also animated, but may of the figures were just too odd.
Martian Metals were the worst line quality wise.  Most of their figures looked
to me like squashed bugs.  The typical pose was standing arms straight out to
the side.  Nevertheless they had some useful figures.  They were the only ones
to produce Kirur and Zhodani figures.  They also made an "Alien" and Darth
Vader figure.  They had some decent robots.
The last line I only saw once and can't remember the whole name.  It had good
figures, but they were a bit large.  Also the line was pretty limited only a
few figures (maybe 20).
Other sources of figures that we have used include WWII 15mm figures painted
to look space age and there was a 25mm line that produced a good 15mm
lizardman (Frank Chadwick's infamous Newt Company).

					Non Cuniculus Est,
					    	Tom Harris



-------- TML Message #401 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 401
Subject: Happy Second Birthday TML!
Date: 23 Jun 89 13:14:31 PDT (Fri)
From: jamesp



Friday marked the second anniversary of the Traveller Mailing List.  Two
years ago I asked rec.games.frp if such an idea raised any interest, and
now we're over 150 members strong, with the following confirmed
international membership counts: 7 in Canada, 2 in Denmark, 1 in the
Netherlands, 4 in Sweden, and 5 in the UK (about 15% of the list
membership).  We have at least 4 people on this list which have
published Traveller materials, and at least one which has run a PBEM
Traveller game.

List contributions by month (yes, the graph is sideways):

  Jun88 12 |====********
  Jul   13 |==***********
  Aug    3 |***					 ________________
M Sep    3 |***					|Legend:	 |
O Oct   11 |=**********				|Administrator = |
N Nov    8 |=*******				|Listee        * |
T Dec    2 |**					|________________|
H Jan89  3 |==*
  Feb    9 |*********
  Mar   73 |======************************************************** ~ *****
  Apr   54 |====**************************************************
  May   52 |==**************************************************
           +----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+- ~ -+----+
	   0    5   10   15   20   25   30   35   40   45   50   55    70   75
		Number of messages submitted

	Note: The list mailing software was broken Jan '89 through Feb
	'89.  Jun '89 is currently at about 18 messages, so it looks
	like things have mostly calmed down.

Archives:
	Kbytes: 1717 (1140 this year)
	Number of messages: 400 (259 this year)
	Number of full bundles: 38 (26 this year)
	Average message size: 4 Kbytes
	Average # messages/week: 7 (up from 3 the previous year)

The above shows that list traffic has increased by a factor of ~2 over
the previous year.  Although messages have remained the same size, we
are getting twice as many of them.

We've had quite a loss of old listees (~30-40) in the past year, which
has been compensated by about 60 new listees, so I think the membership
is fairly stable at around 150 members.  Reasons for loss included
computer account termination (~25%), lack of interest (~25%), or broken
mail addresses (~50%).

During the past year we've had problems with duplicated mail and the
hp.com server failure, both of which have required signifigant efforts
to track down.

I've implemented a dual distribution path for list members in the past
year.  Listees can now choose between "instant" message delivery, or
twice-weekly "digest" delivery.  I've added software that makes it
easier for me to manage the list, particularly in answering standard
questions (archive requests, and the new listee package).  I've also
added "archive packages" that contain messages which pertain to specific
topics (MT Errata, Software, and Ship Designs).  If you'd like a copy of
the archive contents listing, or change your delivery format, please let
me know.

My friends at Computer Network Services here at Tek have recently put
the company mail server (tektronix.tek.com) on the Internet, with a
leased line connection to CSNET.  This has reduced propagation delay for
mail reaching you from 1-6 hours down to 1-10 minutes!

THERE WILL BE SOME CHANGES in the next couple months FOR ADDRESSING MAIL
TO REACH ME AND THE LIST DISTRIBUTION SOFTWARE.  Keep a watch out for
the change, which I will announce as it happens.

If you can think of any way to make this list better, I'd like to hear
your suggestions (even if they are "be more prompt!", or "stop sending
this silly anniversary drivel").

Thanks everybody for being a part of this list.  It's your contributions
that have made this list valuable.  Keep up the excellent quality of
this last year's contributions, and I'll try to keep the list
functional.

James

P.S.  Watch your hobby shops for the successors to Digest Group
Publications' Grand Census and Grand Survey, updated for MegaTraveller.
They are due any time.  Also in November, GDW has scheduled the release
of a "Robots" book for MegaTraveller.



-------- TML Message #402 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 402
Subject: Re: Nuclear Warfare in Space
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 89 00:20:21 PDT
From: (Leonard Erickson) sun.COM!nosun.West!zephyr.ENS.TEK.COM!bucket!leonard@tektronix.TEK.COM


Bob Mahoney writes:
>Adrian Hurt asks:
>
>>Next, a more Traveller-based question. Given all the current fears about what
>>a nuclear war would do (e.g. nuclear winter), could a naval force, e.g. a
>>battle squadron, effectively destroy a planet by using a few salvoes of
>>nuclear missiles? If so, is this accounted for in any account of the Frontier
>>Wars or any other wars? Is it provided for in any rules?
>
>In the latest issue of _Challenge_, there is a "courier" senario, in which a
>number of background/flavor elements are included.  One of these mentions that
>Lucan has ordered his admirals not to surrender any High Population worlds.
>
>There is a later mention of an admiral ordering the nuclear bobmardment of a
>world he was about to lose to advancing forces, in order to change the world's
>status so that it was *no longer* a High Population world...  He is awarded the
>"Starburst for Extreme Heroism" by Lucan.   (*Nice* people!)

You don't need any nukes. Just a few starships or system defense boats. dock
them to a small asteroid (say a chunk of nickel iron a couple of kilometers
across). Use their power plants to nudge it into an orbit that will hit the
planet. Preferably in an ocean if the planet is reasonably earthlike.

Can you say "Dinosaur killer"? For that matter since the asteroid is only
going to hit at 10-15 km/sec and the impact energy depends on the *square*
of the velocity, maybe throwing a smaller asteroid at a higher speed would
be better. 6 G for a few days will give a velocity in the *thousands* of 
km/sec! (5e3 km/sec day 1, 10e3 day 2, etc...) At these speeds, who needs
a warhead? Anything short of anti-matter won't even affect the outcome!

If anyone is interested, I'll dig out the figures from an old article
on giant meteor strikes and convert the data to ship impacts on planets.



-------- TML Message #403 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 403
From: (Adrian Hurt) adrian%cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Subject: Re: Nuclear Warfare in Space
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 89 9:53:57 BST



> Can you say "Dinosaur killer"? For that matter since the asteroid is only
> going to hit at 10-15 km/sec and the impact energy depends on the *square*
> of the velocity, maybe throwing a smaller asteroid at a higher speed would
> be better. 6 G for a few days will give a velocity in the *thousands* of 
> km/sec! (5e3 km/sec day 1, 10e3 day 2, etc...) At these speeds, who needs
> a warhead? Anything short of anti-matter won't even affect the outcome!

I've thought along similar lines as well. Find a small asteroid (say, a few
100's of tonnes). Attach a power plant, manoeuvre drive and control system to
it. Move it out of orbit, to a suitable distance, and let it head for the
target world for 4 weeks at 1G (keep the drives cheap, simple and expendable).
Resulting velocity = 10 x 4 x 7 x 24 x 60 x 60 = 0.24e8 m/sec. I'll let
someone else add in any relativistic calculations. But the gear needed could be
stuffed into an empty 50 tonne weapon bay on a cruiser.
 
> If anyone is interested, I'll dig out the figures from an old article
> on giant meteor strikes and convert the data to ship impacts on planets.

Yes, dig them out, and let's zap Capital! :-)

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk



-------- TML Message #404 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 404
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 89 10:05 EDT
From: 09NILLES%CUA.BITNET@cornellc.cit.cornell.edu
Subject: meteor wpns


Subj:   Re: Nuclear Warfare in Space

>I've thought along similar lines as well. Find a small asteroid (say, a few
>100's of tonnes). Attach a power plant, manoeuvre drive and control system to
>it. Move it out of orbit, to a suitable distance, and let it head for the
>target world for 4 weeks at 1G (keep the drives cheap, simple and expendable).
>Resulting velocity = 10 x 4 x 7 x 24 x 60 x 60 = 0.24e8 m/sec. I'll let
>someone else add in any relativistic calculations. But the gear needed could be
>stuffed into an empty 50 tonne weapon bay on a cruiser.

I think you would be better off using the Bulk Cargo carrior in Fighting ships.
That way you could get that sucker going a good speed.  You then jump the ship
and meteor into the correct star system.  This way, you can be out of the
system before anyone even sees the meteor comming.  You simply cut the jump
cables once you enter the system.  Or if you have time, remove them for reuse.
You don't have to worry about sticking around and getting shot at while you
take the asteroid up to speed.  You do that in an already occupied parsect.
Admittedly, it is a more expensive way to enter the feild, but then again,
you can reuse the ship.  You also don't have to worry about the enemy coming
and taking over the asteroid while the engines are still emplaced.  Then
turning it to s new and safe trajectory.

> If anyone is interested, I'll dig out the figures from an old article
> on giant meteor strikes and convert the data to ship impacts on planets.

I'm interested.


David
09nilles@cua.bitnet


-------- TML Message #405 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 405
From: (Be True to Your Song) baranski@yoda.enet.dec.COM
Date: 26 Jun 89 15:40
Subject: RE:  meteors vs. missles


The Problem with meteors is that they are very visible, and easily disrupted by
sufficient TL weapons, whereas a missle could easily have stealth capabilities
and be hardened.

Jim Baranski
DEC Tewksbury MA



-------- TML Message #406 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 406
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 89 15:43:14 -0500
From: uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!zephyr.ENS.TEK.COM!gslisa!gsliss!jcunning@tektronix.TEK.COM
Subject: Laserburn & Asteroids





Someone just told me that Laserburn is still in business. He
is a miniatures nut, so I consider his info reliable.

As for asteroids as planet-killers, see Adventure 12,
Secret of the Ancients. Grandfather used asteroids which
were accelerated to near-light speeds through his portals
and then smashed into planets/. The impact then shattered them,
and created some new asteroid belts. This process was
Grandfather's ultimate weapon with which he fought his
Final War against his children, wiping all of them out.

How about that Lucan, eh? What a kooky guy.



				Jim Cunningham
				Traveller Relic





-------- TML Message #407 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 407
Subject: Re: meteors vs. missles 
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 89 00:13:30 PDT
From: (Leonard Erickson) leonard@bucket.UUCP



>The Problem with meteors is that they are very visible, and easily disrupted by
>sufficient TL weapons, whereas a missle could easily have stealth capabilities
>and be hardened.
>
>Jim Baranski
>DEC Tewksbury MA

Sorry, but a small asteriod/large meteor is *not* very visible. The only way
to detect it is with active sensors as it won't have any emissions worth 
mentioning. You might say it is naturally stealthy. After all, it is just
a falling rock. Nothing special about it except the fact that its orbit
intersects that target's orbit at the time the target is there.

And just what TL weapon can *destroy* a chunk of nickel-iron a mile or
two in diameter? Breaking it up into pieces makes the problem *worse*
not better. You have to completely destroy it or deflect its course.
If you "break" it, the pieces will deliver just as much impact energy,
and more of it will wind up in the atmosphere (and thus mess up your
climate).

If we go for near-lightspeed projectiles, you won't be able to detect
them in time to stop them. After all, at .9c, something a billion miles
away will arrive less than 7 seconds after any possible detector message!
A billion miles is roughly the diameter of Jupiter's orbit. And at .9c
a projectile a few *meters* in diameter would be a world killer.

I can't see any practical defense. Luckily .9c is not easily attainable
even at high tech levels. But this type of overgrown kinetic-kill weapon
is a possible means of gravely unbalancing the balance of power.





-------- TML Message #408 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 408
Date: 27 Jun 89 11:00 EDT
From: TIHOR@acf7.nyu.edu
Subject: Drop the Rock


In our group this is refered to as the Drop the Rock problem (after the
entertaining section of the C&S rules by that name.)  The only solution
we have come up with is that in a potentially hostile enviornment
(terrorists have access to starships, engines can accellerate at 1+G
for months) a system must maintain draconian control over all objects within
a large radius of its inhabited planets.

That means active scanning; passive scanning for energy emitted by
small objects impacting the near-lightspeed asteroid; etc.  The
radius must be large enough that the society can apply a large delta
V to the object in question, for example by partical beam, or kinetic
weapon of their own (remember the velocities roughly add in a colision.)

All together though its an arguement against the existance of life on planets
or other objects that can not dodge at least a few miles give a short notice.

- -------


-------- TML Message #409 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 409
From: scratch@unix.cis.pittsburgh.edu (Steven J Owens)
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 89 21:49:08 EDT
Subject: RE:  meteors vs. missles


> The Problem with meteors is that they are very visible, and easily disrupted 
> sufficient TL weapons, whereas a missle could easily have stealth capabilitie
> and be hardened.

	Uhmmm... let me get this straight... a tiny cylinder of sophisticated
electronics can be "hardened" more than a huge lump of nickel-iron??
 
	Regardless, if the TL is high enough that the one side might have
weapons with enough brute force to virtually disintegrate the meteor (and
it would have to do so to prevent any damage.  Perhaps there would be less
direct damage from a shattered meteor, but the amount would still be 
considerable) then the other side would have sufficient resources to move
a truly massive meteor, making it just as difficult to destroy/divert as
the smaller meteor at lower TL.  
 
	Heck, if things are that high level, they could just hook up some
sort of stealth system to the meteor, or perhaps a black globe (think now,
with an entire meteor (and truly massive meteor at that) to act as a heat
sink, the black globe could absorb a heckuva lot of damage, and even before
that, the globe would enable the meteor to get much closer before detection.
Also, if the meteor is roughly spherical, and the globe is calibrated so
the outer edge is only a few feet out from the surface, it would be almost
impossible for enemy ship to land on the meteor.
 
	Of course, by that time you might as well get creative with your
TL18 devices, like linking a teleportation gate to the heart of a star,
and hooking the "output" end to a planet's atmosphere, or perhaps even
hooking several stars together to accelerate the aging process and cause
a spontaneous nova.  If that's too esoteric for your tastes, simply put
together a VERY powerful gravity generator (the size of the deathstar,
perhaps) able to survive solar temperature for a short (or even not so
short) length of time, then drop it into a star and turn on the gravity.
Bingo, instant disruption of the star's structure, resulting in something
similar enough to a nova to severely screw up the other side's control of 
a system... not that anybody would WANT the system after this has been done...

Steven J. Owens  |  Scratch@Pittvms  |  Scratch@unix.cis.pittsburgh.edu

"He knew how machinery moved, and this wasn't it.  All he could
 think of was a man and woman making love.  Slippery-smooth rythmic
 motion, absolute single-minded purpose, motion for the sake of motion.
 It was terrible in it's beauty, the flight of the horse."

	-- _The_Flight_of_the_Horse_, Larry Niven




-------- TML Message #410 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 410
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 89 13:10:07 -0400
From: elturner@phoenix.princeton.edu (Edwin L Turner)
Subject: Re: meteors vs. missles


>Sorry, but a small asteriod/large meteor is *not* very visible. The only way  
>to detect it is with active sensors as it won't have any emissions worth      
>mentioning. You might say it is naturally stealthy. After all, it is just     
>a falling rock. Nothing special about it except the fact that its orbit       
>intersects that target's orbit at the time the target is there.               

Actually, they are reasonably strong infrared sources.  For example, the
recent NASA IRAS (Infrared Astronomy Satellite) survey managed to detected
several comets in the outer solar system (i.e., where they are just icy
bodies of roughly kilometer size and have not developed a coma or tail)
using technology which is well behind our current state of the art (since
it had to be frozen years in advance of the launch).

Also, it seems perfectly reasonable to assume that systems with advanced TL
worlds will employ active sensors to monitor all local traffic and use
computers to flag any objects on non-ballistic trajectories 
(i.e., accelerating) or with orbits which will carry them into high traffic
areas.

>And just what TL weapon can *destroy* a chunk of nickel-iron a mile or      
>two in diameter? Breaking it up into pieces makes the problem *worse*       
>not better. You have to completely destroy it or deflect its course.        
>If you "break" it, the pieces will deliver just as much impact energy,      
>and more of it will wind up in the atmosphere (and thus mess up your        
>climate).                                                                   

You are correct that breaking it up immediately outside the atmosphere will
do little, if any, good.  However, any weapon that breaks it up reasonably
violently (i.e., explosively) at a considerable distance will impart 
sufficient transverse velocity to nearly all of the fragments so as to
make them miss the target entirely.  The basic point is that planets are
quite small objects on interplanetary scales and very easy to miss.  For
example, imparting a transverse velocity of only 1 km/s to an object
previously moving toward the center of the Earth as it crosses the Moon's
orbit (very close!) is about sufficient to cause it to miss entirely;
further away, even smaller deflection velocities will suffice.  For
basicly the same reasons, deflection of the whole incoming object is far
easier (less energetically demanding) than putting it on a collision
course in the first place.

>If we go for near-lightspeed projectiles, you won't be able to detect       
>them in time to stop them. After all, at .9c, something a billion miles     
>away will arrive less than 7 seconds after any possible detector message!   
>A billion miles is roughly the diameter of Jupiter's orbit. And at .9c      
>a projectile a few *meters* in diameter would be a world killer.            

First of all, I make it to be more like 10 minutes than 7 seconds, but
in any case, you are now talking about a fundamentally different kind
of weapon.  Previously, we were discussing a weapon which derived its
energy primarily from its own mass and orbital velocities (i.e., basicly
the star's gravitational field) with the drive only supplying the
nudges needed to aim it at the target.  However, a .9c kinetic weapon
must derive nearly all of its energy from the drive itself which is
a very different situation.  If we control that much energy, there
will be many different ways to use it destructively.  For example, we can
use the drive itself (plus perhaps some stealth technology) as a missle.
The mass may be less but the velocity will be correspondingly increased
to deliver the same (actually more in the most reasonable case in which
the drive delivers a fixed thrust) kinetic energy.  Alternately, we
might be able to convert the drive's energy into an explosive form and
simply use it as a bomb.  Anyway, it is a whole different problem.

Ed Turner


-------- TML Message #411 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 411
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 89 07:59:34 PDT
From: (John Redden) redden@ttidca.tti.COM
Subject: cosmos 6



Cosmos 6; A continuing list of house rules of the Cosmos variant Trav
system.

- -----------  S K I L L S ------------- L I S T ---------------------------

Note: 

Skills with an EDU component are limited and modified by Tech Level.

Common Trav derived notation is used; 9+ means "greater than 9".
9- means "less than 9".  "INT 9+ = +1"  means "if INT is greater than
9 then 1 extra point is added".

_________________________________________________________________________

ACTING.
    Skill associations: @ ACTING-1  PC gains ORATORY-0, @ ACTING-2 character
    must have ORATORY-1.
    Adv Mods: SOC B(11)+ = +1, INT 9+ = +1, for each 5 pts > 9 = +1;
    EDU B(11)+ = +1, for each 6 pts > B = +1; SOC 4- = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1, EDU 4- = -1 (note APP can apply depending
    on the actors role).
This skill allows the charcter to assume a role of another character.  This
skill is not limited by tech level, only by environment.

ADMINISTRATION.
    Skill associations: @ ADMIN-3 character gains LAW-0, @ ADMIN-4 character
    must have LAW-1.
    Adv Mods: 5 <= SOC <= 9 = +1, 5 <= INT <= 9 = +1.
    Disadv Mods: SOC 3- or SOC B(11)+ = -1, INT 3- or INT B(11)+ = -1
This skill is limited by tech level.  The above configuration is specific to
League Cosmos culture circa year 3000.

ARTIST.
    Subskills: ART HISTORY, ART CRITIC, DISGUISE (non medical)
    Skill associations: @ ART-3 character gains PERC-0, @ ART-4 character must
    have PERC-1.
    Adv Mods: INT 9+ = +1, for each 5 pts > 9 = +1, EDU E(14)+ = +1, for
    each 5 pts > E = +1; SOC 4- = +1, SOC E(14)+ =+1, for each 5 pts > E =
    +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1, EDU 4- = -1.
This skill is not limited by tech level.  Background for art is culture
specific.


ATHLETICS.
    Subskills: SWIMMING (speed and distance), RUNNING (speed and
    distance), THROWING, HURLING, SWINGING, BLADE CBT, MARTIAL ARTS,
    SKIING (speed and distance), CATCHING, JUMPING, DANCING, SURFING.
    Adv Mod: STR, DEX, and END- varies depending on subskill.
    Disadv Mod: STR, DEX, and END- varies depending on subskill.
This skill is not limited by tech level and is associated to cultural 
background.

BARGAINING.
    Skill Associations: @ BARG-2 gain ORATORY-0 and WRITING-0, @ BARG-3
    gain ADMIN-0, must have ORATORY-1 and WRITING-1, @ BARG-4 must have
    ADMIN-1.
    Adv Mods: INT 9+ = +1, for each 5 pts > 9 = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1.
The skill mechanics are different when bargaining the unskilled (simple
success rolls work).  Bargaining with 2 or more PCs with bargaining
skills is either resolved on a resolution matrix or on a 'one success
and one failure' basis.  The skill assumes a common language between the
parties and includes both verbal and nonverbal communication.  It is not
limited by tech level and is associated to cultural background.

BATTLEDRESS.
    Skill Associations: In COSMOS this is considered a subskill of
    VACC SUIT.
    Adv Mods: DEX A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv Mods: DEX 5- = -1.
Limited by tech level.  The lowest tech level with automated armor of this
capability is approximalely 8.  The skill is associated to cultural background.

BLADE CBT.
    Subskills: BLADE CBT- PARRY.
    Skill associations: @ BLADE CBT 2 gain ATHLETICS-0, must have ATHLETICS-1
    for BLADE CBT 3.
    Adv Mods: STR 8-A(10)+ depending on weapon type = +1, for each 5 pts
    > (8-A) = +1.
    Disadv Mods: STR (4-6)- depending on weapon type = -1.
This skill is associated to archaic weapons, but small blades are
still common in COSMOS.  Not limited by tech level.  The cultural association
is weak for this skill.

BIOLOGY.
    Subskills: XENO-BIOLOGY
    Skill Associations: @ BIOLOGY-3 gain GENETICS-0 and BIOCHEM-0,
    @ BIOLOGY-4 must have GENETICS-1, and BIOCHEM-1, gains IMMUNOLOGY-0.
    @ BIOLOGY-5 must have IMMUNOLOGY-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 3 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
Limited by tech level.  Until Tech level four, skill can only be at level 1.
There is very little association to culture.

BONTANY.
    Skill associations: @ BONT-2 gain BIOL-0, @ BONT-3 must have BIOL-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 3 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
Limited by tech level.  Until Tech level four, skill can only be at level 1.
There is very little association to culture.

BRAWLING.
    Skill associations: BRAWL is associated to  MARTIAL ARTS.
    @ BRAWL-3 gain STREETWISE-0, @ BRAWL-4 must have STREETWISE-1.
    Adv Mods: STR A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv Mods: STR 5- = -1.
This is a skill of undisciplined 'bar room' combat.  A successful usage
of BRAWL could also mean where to be and not to be, not just fighting.
Not limited by tech level.  Weak association to culture.

BRIBERY.
    Skill associations: @ BRIBERY-2 gain ADMIN-0, @ BRIBERY-3 must have
    ADMIN-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1.
Not limited by tech level.  Associated to cultural background.

CAROUSING.
    Subskills: FLIRTING
    Adv Mods: APP A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1.
This skill includes the ability to meet people and hear rumors.  APP is
culturelly relative and may not count.  FLIRT is carousing with conscious
or subconscious sexual overtones.  Not limited by tech level.  Associated to
cultural background.

CHEMISTRY.
    Subskills: TOXOCOLOGIST, GEOCHEMIST, CHEMICAL ENGINEER
    Skill associations: @ CHEM-1 gain PHYSICS-0, @ CHEM-n must have
    PHYSICS-n-2, @ CHEM-2 gain MATH-0, @ CHEM-3 must have MATH-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
Limited by tech level.  Below tech level 4 max skill level for CHEM is 1.
Virtually no association to culture.

CRYPTOGRAPHY.
    Skill associations: CRYPT is a subskill of COMPUTER and LINGUISTICS.
Limited by tech level.

CLIMBING.
    Skill associations: CLIMB is a subskill of ATHLETICS.
    Adv Mods: DEX B(11)+ = +1, STR B = +1, for each pt > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: DEX 5- = -1, STR 5- = -1.
Not limited by tech level.

COMBAT ENGINEERING.
    Skill associations: COMB ENG is a subskill of MECHANICAL ENGINEERING.
Used in warfare to build high-tech fortifications.  Limited by tech level
and only weakly associated to culture.  

COMMUNICATIONS.
    Skill associations: @ COMM-2 gain ELEC-0, @ COMM-3 must have ELEC-1
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
This skill enables the PC to operate complex comm equipment in a nonmundane
mode.  Limited by tech level.  The skill will now be found below tech level
5.  There is a weak association to culture.

COMPUTER.
    Subskills: (see below)
    Skill associations: @ COMP-2 gain MATH-0, @ COMP-3 must have MATH-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
Application programming does not exist in COSMOS per se.  At levels 0-1
PC is generally effective in using application generators and session
moderators to solve problems.  Program = COMP + <other skill>.  At levels
2-3 PC knows details of how the system interconnects below the dialog
level (at our tech level it is roughly equivalent to skills in database,
operating systems, real time, and distributed systems).  At levels 4 and
above the PC can objectively control the intelligence of the machine
(border line alien life form).  The PC will have a knowledge of
interconnectiveness of logical genetic encoding primitives, condensed
natural selection of strong vrs. weak gencodprim combinations, parallel
symbolic interaction of machine thinking processes (at our tech level
approximating our early attempts of artificial stupidity).  In League
Cosmos society is close to have created machines that are alien life forms.
Skill is limited by tech level and moderately associated to culture.  The
skill does not exist below tech level 6.

DEMOLITIONS.
    Skill associations: @ DEMO-2 gain ELECTRIC-0, @ DEMO-3 must have
    ELECT-1, and gains MECH-0, @ DEMO-4 must have MECH-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
Limted by tech level.  Does not exist below tech level 2.  Weakly associated
to culture.

DIPLOMACY.
    Skill associations: @ DIP-2 gain ORATORY-0, LIAISON-0 and WRITING-0,
    @ DIP-3 must have ORATORY-1 and WRITING-1, and gains LAW-0, @ DIP-4
    must have LAW-1, character always has LIAISON-n @ DIP-n-2.
    Adv Mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1. EDU D(13)+ = +1,
    for each 4 pts > D = +1, SOC C(12)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > C = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1, EDU 6- = -1.
This skill allows the character to arbitrate disputes.  Not limited by tech
level.  Strongly associated to culture.

ELECTRONICS.
    Skill associations: @ ELECT-2 gain MATH-0 and PHYSICS-0, @ ELECT-3
    must have either MATH-1 or PHYSICS-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.  
Skill is limited by tech level.  Does not exist below tech level 4.  The
skill is weakly associated to culture.

ENGINEERING.
    Subskills: are numerous, examples are ELECTRICAL, CHEMICAL, SHIELDS,
    XENO, MECHANICAL.
    Skill associations: @ ENGINEER-1 gain PHYSICS-0, @ ENGINEER-2 gain
    MATH-0 and must have PHYSICS-1, @ ENGINEER-3 must have MATH-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ =+1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
Skill is limited by tech level.  The skill is moderately associated to 
culture.

FA GUNNERY.
    Skill associations: FA GUN is considered a subskill of GUNNERY.
    Adv Mods: DEX (variable).
    Disadv Mods: DEX (variable).
This is a 'group' skill of operating large high-tech field pieces, mass
driver guns, plasma and fusion guns, mass accelerators, so on.  Skill
is limited by tech level.  It does not exist below tech level 3.  It is
weakly associated culture.

FLEET TACTICS.
    Skill associations: FLEET TAC is considered a subskill of TACTICS.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D =+1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1
This skill increases probability of success of operating two or more
ships in a noncombat situation.  It is limited by tech level and does
not exist below tech level 8.  It is moderately associated to culture.

FORGERY.
    Subskills: COUNTERFEITING.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1, EDU E(14)+ = +1,
    for each 3 pts > E = +1, DEX D(13) = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1, EDU 5- = -1, DEX 6- = -1.
Included are the ability to forge documents using technical and
nontechnical means.  It is not limited by tech level and is strongly associated
to culture.

FORWARD OBSERVER.
    Skill associations: @ FWD OBV-3 gain PERCEPTION-0, @ FWD OBV-4 must
    have PERC-1.
    Adv Mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
A character skilled in FWD OBV has similar abilities to a character that has
PERCEPTION, except high-tech equipment MUST be used.  The range is equal to
the range of the equipment.  It is not limited by tech level.  It is moderately
associated to the culture.

GAMBLING.
    Skill association: GAMB is associated to GAMING.  @ GAMB-3
    gain MATH-0 and SLIGHT OF HAND-0, @ GAMB-4 must learn MATH-1 or
    SLIGHT OF HAND-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
The skill is used as a luck roll in a serious situation.  There are no
tech level limitations.  It is associated to the culture.

GRAVITICS.
    Skill associations: @ GRAV-2 gain MATH-0 and PHYSICS-0, @ GRAV-3 must
    have MATH-1 or PHYSICS-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods:INT 6- = -1.
It is limited by tech level.  The skill will not be found below tech level 9.
It is weakly associated to culture.

GENETICS.
    Skill associations: @ GENET-2 gain BIOLOGY-0 and BIOCHEM-0, @ GENET-3
    must have BIOCHEM-1. @ GENET-4 must have BIOLOGY-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1.
It is limited by tech level.  The skill will not be found below tech level 6.
It is weakly associated to culture.

GUN CBT.
    Subskills: HEAVY WEAPONS is considered a subskill of GUN CBT.
    Adv Mods: vbl DEX(8-A)+ = +1.
    Disadv Mods: vbl DEX(3-7)- = -1.
It is not limited by tech level.  It does not exist below tech level 3.
It is moderately associated to culture.

GUNNERY.
    Subskills: FA GUNNERY is considered a subskill of GUNNERY.
    Adv mods: none.
    Disadv mods: none.
The gunner skill is the operation of starship weapon systems.  It has
nothing to do with aiming and pulling the trigger.  The gunner helps
coordinate the data between the ships sensors and the weapon programs
in the computer(s).  It is limited by tech level.  The skill does not exist
below tech level 9.  It is weakly associated to culture.

HEAVY WEAPONS.
    Skill associations:  H WEAPONS is a subskill of GUN CBT.  @ H WEAPONS-1
    gain GUN CBT-0, @ H WEAPONS-n must have GUN CBT-n-1.
    Adv Mods: vbl DEX.
    Disadv Mods: vbl DEX.
Similar to GUN CBT in limitations.   The skill does not exist below tech 
level 4.

HIDE ITEM.
    Skill associations: HIDE ITEM is a subskill of URBAN and WILD/VACC
    CAMOUFLAGE.  @ HIDE ITEM-1 gain either URBAN or WILD/VACC CAMO-0,
    @ HIDE ITEM-2 must have either URBAN or WILD/VACC CAMO-1.
    Adv Mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1.
Ideally a character with a HIDE ITEM skill specialization should have both
URBAN and WILD/VACC CAMO-1 by HIDE ITEM-2.  The skill is not limited by
tech level.  It has a strong association to culture.

INSTRUCTION.
    Adv Mods: A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1, EDU D(13)+ = +1, for
    each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1.
A character with a skill in instruction increases the probability of a
student studying a skill under that instructor of increasing their ability
in the skill.  The GM will apply the level of INSTR to the algorithm to
increase PC skills (when successfully used by the instructor).  The
instructor can only teach skills known.  The GM might put restrictions on
an instructor teaching INSTR (perhaps a long time restriction).  The skill
is not limited by tech level.  It has a strong association to culture.

INTERROGATION.
    Subskills: TORTURE is considered a subskill of INTERROGATION.
    Adv Mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 6 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1.
It is not limited by tech level.  Moderate association to culture.

JACK OF ALL TRADES.
    Skill associations: infinite.
    Subskills: infinite.
    Adv Mods: vbl (depending on skill).
    Disadv Mods: vbl (depending on skill).
J O T is the roleplayers delight.  It allows the player to give the character
obscure and archaic skills at little skill point cost.  All J O T skills
are at level-0.  The number of skills depends on the J O T level:
J O T-0 choose 6 skills, J O T-1 add 6 skills (12 total), J O T-2 and -3
add 3 skills, for each level > 3 add 2 skills.  J O T is the result of
a move towards generalization in League society.  There are plenty of
charcters  running around that consider themselves to be the learned 
generalist.  There are a few restrictions on J O T skills.  The skill must be
learned somewhere, i.e., MAGIC-0 cannot be chosen as a J O T skill unless its
discovered (very difficult) or learned.  Specialized but related J O T
skills count as a unit each.  Example: LOW PASSAGE ENGINEER and ENGINEER
count as two skills.  Some J O T skills that have been invented so far:
DISC JOCKEY-0, SPACEPORT ART-0, COMPUTER AIDED SEX-0.  J O T has constant
tech level restrictions and is (variably) associated culture.

JUMPING.

    Skill associations: JUMP is considered as subskill of ATHLET.
    Adv Mods: STR A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1, DEX A(10)+ = +1,
    for each 4 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv Mods: STR 6- =-1, DEX 6- = -1.
It is not limited by tech level.  It is weakly associated to culture.

LAW.
    Subskills:  LAW is divided by domain into SPACE, PLANETARY and XENO LAW
    and by function, say CREDIT LAW, LEGAL SEMANTICS, TAX LAW, CHURCH LAW,
    ARCHAIC COMMON LAW, etc.
    Skill associations: @ LAW 2 gain ADMIN-0, @ LAW 1 must have ADMIN-1.
    Adv Mods: INT C(12)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > C = +1, EDU A(10)+ = +1, for
    each 4 pts > A = +1, SOC E(14)+ = +1, for each 3 pts > E = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1, EDU 7- =-1, EDU 4- = -2.
In League SPACE LAW is backed by an assembly of all planetary subscribers
that is held every 400 20 hour cycles in our chronometry. There are
substantial economic advantages in cooperating with the League law makers
so far planet subs rarely fall out of line.  How a planetary government
functions and how its associated legal system functions can vary, thus
the subskill PLANETARY LAW.  XENO LAW is a whole 'nother game.  
LAW is strongly associated to culture and not limited by tech level.

LEADER.
    Adv Mods: APP C(12)+ = +1
    Disadv Mods: none.
This skill enables the character to lead others in combat and noncombat
situations.  In combat situations the skill can reduce the chance
of enemy surprise.  APP as a advantage mod is tentative and culturelly
dependent.  The skill is strongly associated to culture and is not limited
by tech level.

LIAISON.
    Skill associations: @ LIAISON-1 gain ADMIN-0 and STREETWISE-0. @ LIAISON-n
    gain ADMIN-n-1 and STREETWISE-n-1, @ LIAISON-2 gain ORATORY-0 and
    WRITING 0, @ LIAISON-3 must have ORATORY-1 and WRITING-1.
    Adv Mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 Pts > A = +1.
    Disadv Mod: INT 6- = -1.
A character with this skill is able to suppress 'subjectivity' when delivering
information and is able to get from here to yon without being noticed.  It is
strongly limited by culture and not limited by tech level.

LINGUISTICS.
    Subskills: XENO-LINGUISTICS is considered a subskill of LING in most cases
    Skill associations: @ LING-2 gain either MATH-0 or COMPUTER-0, @ LING-3
    have MATH-1 or COMPUTER-1.
    Adv Mods: INT C(12)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > C = +1, EDU E(14)+ = +1, for
    each 3 pts > E = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1, EDU 5- = -1.
The skill is strongly associated to culture.  It is limited by tech level.

LOCK SYSTEMS.
    Skill associations: @ LOCK SYS-1 gain ELECTRONICS-0, @ LOCK SYS-2 gain
    MECHANICAL-0 and must have ELECTRONIC-1, @ LOCK SYS-3 must have
    MECH-1 and ELEC-2.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ =+1, for each 4pts > D =+1, DEX D+ = +1
	      for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods: INT 6- = -1, DEX 6- = -1.
Typically this skill is used with SECURITY SYSTEMS, but only deals with 
arming and disarming electromechanical lock devices.  The skill is moderately
associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.  The skill does not
exist at tech level 0.

MAGIC (FORCE 
    Subskills: infinite.
    Adv Mods: INT, FOR vbl.
    Disadv Mods: INT, FOR vbl.
This skill allows the medium to channel this 'energy' in the COSMOS
space-time continuum to do strange and sometimes awesome things.  The
effect ranges from MAGIC-0 where the medium is able to do the basic
manipulations of force on their person, to MAGIC-5+ where the medium
is able to recombine time, energy and matter.  The basic throw is made
as in all other skills.  If the medium does not fumble, they will get so
much stuff to put in the force transformation.  See COSMOS MAGIC (FORCE
SCIENCE) writeup for further details.  The skill is variably associated to
culture and variably limited by tech level.

MARTIAL ARTS.
    Subskills: M A DISARM, M A HAND TO HAND, M A EVADE
    Skill associations: @M A -2 gain BRAWLING-0, @ M A -3 gain
    ATHLETICS-0, must have BRAWLING-1, @ M A -4 gain BLD CBT-0, 
    must have ATHLETICS-1, @ MART ARTS-5 must have BLADE CBT-1.
    Adv Mods: STR, DEX, END- varies depending on subskill.
    Disadv Mods: STR, DEX, END- varies depending on subskill.
M A subskills are based on OS.  M A - 0 (with no subskill) is similar
to BRAWL-0 except the attacker can choose close range combat to be
directed at either STR, DEX, or END.  M A EVADE can be directed vrs a
single attacker (any range) to evade it.  M A DISARM can be used to
successfully disarm an opponent at close range.  M A HAND TO HAND
can direct hand combat at the opponents STR, DEX or END and has
the ability to parry nonprojectile close combat weapons (count level
n vrs BRAWL and other M A attacks, count level n-1 vrs BLADE CMBT
attacks).  The skill is moderately associated to culture.  It is not
limited by tech level.

MATHEMATICS
    Subskills: numerous (sic).
    Skill associations: @ MATH-2 gain COMPUTER-0, @ MATH-3 must have
    COMPUTER-1.
    Adv Mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mods:INT 6- = -1.
At level 0 the character knows algebraic calculations, geometry, and trig.
At level 1 the character knows differentiation, integration, and vector
           calculus.
At level 2 the character knows differential equations and mathematical systems.
At level 2+n the character knows metamathematical philosophies.
The skill is moderately associated to culture and is limited by tech level.

MECHANICAL.
    Skill associations: @ MECH-3 gain PHYSICS-0, @ MECH-4 must have
    PHYSICS-1.
    Adv Mod: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mod: INT 6- = -1.
This is a technician skill and not an engineering skill.  This skill is
weakly associated to culture and is limited by tech level.

MEDICAL.
    Subskills: numerous but some popular ones are... LIMB REPLACEMENT,
    APPEARANCE ALTERATION, STR/DEX/END/INT ALTERATION, COMPUTER AIDED
    SURGERY.
    Skill associations: @ MED-2 gain BIOL-0, PHARM-0, BIOCHEM-0, @ MED-3
    must have BIOL-1, @ MED-4 PHARM-1, and at MED-5 BIOCHEM-1.
    Adv mod: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv Mod: INT 6- = -1.
The skill is moderately associated to culture.  It is limited by tech level.

MUSIC.
    Adv mod: INT 9+ = +1, for each 5 pts > 9 = +1, DEX B(11)+ = +1, for
    each 5 pts > B = +1, SOC 4- = +1(yes!), SOC E(14)+ = +1, for each
    4 pts > E = +1, EDU E(14)= +1, for each 4 pts > E = +1.
    Disadv Mod: INT 5- =-1, EDU 4- =-1.
The skill is strongly associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

NAVIGATION.
    Skill associations: @ NAV-2 gain ASTRONOMY-0, COMPUTER-0, and MATH-0,
    @ NAV-3 must have ASTRO-1, @ NAV-4 must have MATH-1 and COMPUTER-1.
    Adv mod: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv mod: INT 6- = -1.
Space navigators determine the "shape" of hyperspace among other things.  The
skill is weakly associated to culture and is limited by tech level.  It does
not exist below tech level 9.

NOTHINGNESS.
    Subskills: undefined.
    Skill Associations: infinite.
    Adv mod: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1, EDU 6- = +1.
    Disadv Mod: INT 6- = -1, EDU D(13)+ = -1, for each 4 pts > D = -1.
This is an odd skill.  A character can gain NOTHINGNESS-0 by failing ALL their
skills for a GM determined time period, failing a save vrs EDU and then
making a save vrs INT!  It is a mental state of aware unconsciousness.
It is the negation of skills.  In this state the ground car not the character
does the driving, the sword not the character does the thrusting.  The skill
is particularly useful in protecting the character from psionics.  The 
cultural association is variable.  There are not tech level limits.

ORATORY.
    Subskills: FAST TALK, DEBATE 
    Adv mod: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1, DEX E(14) = +1,
    for each 4 pts > E = +1.
    Disadv mod: INT 6- = -1, EDU 5- = -1, DEX 5- = -1.
The skill is strongly associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

PERCEPTION.
    Subskills: These are also numerous, some are SPOT HIDDEN, SENSE
    BEHAVIOR CHANGE, SPOT TRIVIAL, REMEMBER DETAIL, SOLVE RIDDLE,
    SPOT UNUSUAL.
    Adv mod: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv Mod: INT 6- = -1.
The skill is moderatly associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

PHARMACOLOGY.
    Skill associations: @ PHARM-2 gain CHEM-0, @ PHARM-3 must have
    CHEM-1.
    Adv mod: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv mod: INT 6- = -1.
The skill is weakly associated to culture.  It is limited by tech level.

PHYSICS.
    Subskills: some examples are GENERAL RELATIVIST, ASTROPHYSICIST,
    NUCLEAR PHYSICIST.
    Skill associations: @ PHYSICS-1 gain MATH-0, @ PHYSICS-2 gain CHEM-0
    and must have MATH-1, @ PHYSICS-3 must have CHEM-1.
    Adv mod: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv mod: INT 6- = -1.
Cultural associations are weak.  The skill is limited by tech level.

PILOT.
    Subskills: PILOT: GAS GIANT SKIM and other subskills.
    Skill associations: @ PILOT-3 gain COMP-0, @ PILOT-4 must have
    COMP-1.
    Adv mod: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > A = +1, DEX A(10)+ = +1,
    for each 5 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv mod: INT 6- = -1.
Cultural associations are moderate.  The skill is not limited by tech level
but does not exist below tech level 6.

PLANETOLOGY.
    Subksills: OCEANOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, METEOROLOGY.
    Skill associations: @ PLANET-2 gain CHEM-0, @PLANET-3 must have CHEM-1.
    Adv mod: INT D(13)+ - +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
    Disadv mod: INT 6- = -1.
It is weakly associated to culture.  The skill is limited by tech level.

POETRY.
    Skill associations: @ POET-1 gain WRITE-0, @ POET-2 gain WRITE-1.
    Adv mod: INT 9+ = +1, for each 5 pts > 9 = +1, EDU E(14)+ = +1,
    for each 3 pts > E = +1, SOC E(14)+ = +1, SOC 4- = +1.
    Disadv mod: INT 5- = -1, EDU 4- = -1.
It is strongly associated to culture.  The skill is not limited by tech level.

PROPAGANDA.
    Subksills: ADVERTISING, AGIT PROP
    Skill associations: @ PROP-2 gain SOC SCI-0, @ PROP-3 must have
    SOC SCI-1.
    Adv mod: INT 9+ = +1, for each 5 pts > 9  = +1, EDU E (14)+ = +1,
    for each 3 pts > E = +1.
    Disadv mod: INT 5- = -1, EDU 4- = -1.
This skill has to do with persuasion of large groups of people.  AGIT PROP
is political propaganda for a specific cause, ADVERTISING is propaganda for
the intention of selling something.  The skill has strong cultural 
associations.  It is not limited by tech level.

PSIONICS.
    Associated skills: MAGIC (but not directly associated)
This skill is also known as "force of the mind" by those species that
are capable of using it.  Although much more limited in its scope than
"force science" (MAGIC) it can be equally or more powerful.  PSI
requires a native INT for successful operation.  PSI divides into attacking
or striking capability (PSS) and a resisting or defensive capability (PSR).
It is moderatly associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

RECON.
    Associated skills: @ RECON-1 gain PERCEPTION-0, FWD OBSRV-0, URBAN
    CAMOUFLAGE-0, and WILDERNESS TRACKING-0, @ RECON-2 must have PERC-1,
    FWD OBSRV-1 etc.
    Adv mod:  INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv mod: INT 6- = -1.
It is moderately associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

RECRUITING.
    Associated skills: @ RECRUIT-2 gain ADMIN-0, @ RECRUIT-3 must have
    ADMIN-1.
    Adv mod: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1, EDU E(14)+ = +1,
    for each 3 pts > E = +1, APP E(14)+ = +1(maybe).
    Disadv mod: INT 6- = -1, EDU 5- = -1.
It is strongly associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

RIDING.
    Adv mod: DEX B(11)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > B = +1.
    Disadv mod: DEX 5- = -1.
There are moderate cultural associations.  It is not limited by tech level.

RUNNING.
    Skill associations: RUN is considered a subskill of ATHLETICS.
    Adv mods: STR A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1, DEX A(10)+
    = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1.
    Disadv mods: STR 6- = -1, DEX 6- = -1.
There are moderate cultural associations.  It is not limited by tech level.

SECURITY SYSTEMS.
Skill associations: @ SEC SYS-1 gain COMP-0, @ SEC SYS-2 must have COMP-1,
@ SEC SYS-1 gain ELECT-0, @ SEC SYS-2 must have ELECT-1.
Adv mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 6- = -1.
     This skill deals with electronic and computer driven security systems.
The skill is most useful for implementing/breaking local security systems.
There are moderate cultural associations.  It is limited by tech level.  The
skill does not exist below tech level 5.

SEXUAL CRAFT.
    Subskills: SEDUCTION, SEXUAL MANIPULATION, ORAL SEX, BESTEALITY,
    XENO-SEXUAL-CRAFT.
    Adv Mods: INT 9+ = +1, for each 5 pts > 9 = +1, DEX B(11)+ = +1 for
    each 4 pts > B = +1, EDU E(14)+, for each 5 pts > E = +1.
    APP 9+ = +1, for each 5 pts > 9 = +1 (culturely relative
    and is only applied to SEDUCT and SEX MAMIP), END 9+ = +1,
    for each 5 pts > 9 = +1 (does not apply to SEX MANIP or
    SEDUCT).
    Disadv Mods: INT 5- = -1, DEX 5- = -1, END 5- = -1 (same restrictions
    as Adv Mods), APP 5- (same restrictions as Adv Mods).
Female rapists do exist in League Comsos culture.  They use drugs to forcibly
stimulate the male (usually via a needle gun).  The ultraviolence associated 
with male rape is extremely rare.  SEXUAL MANIPULATION is the ability to
control another person via sexual favors.  

XENO-SEXUAL- CRAFT is dependent on contact with sexually interested
alien species

This skill set is strongly associated to culture and is not limited by tech
level.

SHIPS TACTICS.
Skill associations: SHIPS TACTICS is considered a subskill of TACTICS.
Adv mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 6- = -1.
      This skill is used for offensive and defensive advantages in
ship-to-ship combat.  For this skill to run in computer the minimum
native INT is 3, i.e., SHIPS TACTICS cannot run as a stand alone
program without artificial or equivalent INT.  The skill is moderately 
associated to culture. It is limited by tech level.  It does not exist 
below tech level 8.


SKIING.
Skill associations: SKI is considered a subskill of ATHLET.
Adv mods: STR A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1, DEX A(10) = +1, for
each 4 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mods: STR 6- = -1, DEX 6- = -1.
This skill is not limited by tech level and is associated to cultural 
background.

SLIGHT OF HAND.
Subskills: PICK POCKET
Adv mods: DEX B(11)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > B = +1, INT D(13)+ = +1, for
each 5 pts > D = +1.
Disadv mods: DEX 5- = -1.
     Abilities include removing an item and not being noticed, to
replace a real item by a facsimile, to perform coin and card tricks.
This skill is not limited by tech level and is associated to cultural 
background.

SOCIAL SCIENTIST.
Subskills: ANTHROPOLOGIST, SOCIAL DYNAMICIST (SOC SCI OF NATURAL
HISTORY), HISTORIAN (CHRONOGRAPHER, CHRONICLER), ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR
(BUSINESS ECONOMICS), POLITICAL ECONOMIST (POLITICAL SCIENTIST),
PSYCHOLOGY.
Skill associations: @ SOC SCI-2 gain COMPUTER-0, @ SOC SCI-3 must
have COMPUTER-1, @ ECON BEHAV-2 gain MATH-0, @ ECON BEHAV-3 must have
MATH-1.
Adv mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 3 pts > D = +1, EDU A(10)+ = +1, for
each 4 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 6- = -1, EDU 5- = -1.
    The specialties of the social scientist are more closely
associated than those of the physical scientist.  The ANTHRO expert
is concerned (for purposes of analysis) with a society in "stasis" and
attempts to study its technology, small-to-large group behavior,
prevalent mythologies, family structures, ritualization processes.
The ANTHRO expert of League would be a combination of the physical
and cultural anthropologist plus the sociologist of our 20th cent.
The SOC DYN expert is more concerned with defining what and what will
not happen in the future of a given society if certain things are or
are not done.  There is not past, present or future to be studied only
the sum total multicausal relationships of a given society as it
evolves through its time-space continuum.  SOC DYN experts are usually
disliked by planetary governments (they have been known to argue for
the decrease in government power one year and for its increase the
next to everyones frustration!), and are usually radicals of some kind
or planetary subversives.  In the 20th cent social
philosophers of every persuation can be considered the forerunner of
the SOC DYN expert.  HIST experts are capable of finding obscure
details on the societies past.  They can also time-date things very
accurately given the correct information.  League HIST experts are
not unlike our own.  The ECON BEHAV specialist is knowledgeable in
in the distribution of either mental or physical "scarce things"
and what their effect on the behavior/perception of people of
a known society ("the masses").  The ECON BEHAV specialist is not
unlike our present day economist, but with a considerably broader view
of what "economics" is.  The POLIT ECON specialist is knowledgeable
on how the sum total of mental/physical work output by a given
society is controlled and used by that society.  Typically the
POLIT ECON specialist is knowledgeable in discovering the "true"
mechanisms of economic social control.  Political economists of
the 20th cent are are represented by doctrinaire and nondoctrinaire
schools of thought as to how the state, individual and society
relate to economies.  The PSYCH specialist is able to identify
individual symbolic identification, individual mythology and logic
building mechanisms, they will be able to recognize the persons
nonconscious mental processes.  The PSYCH specialist can build
a paradigm of characters psychological processes ("parent-child-other",
"analyzer-supporter-controller-promoter matrix", ect.).  The PSYCH
specialist is useful in removing learning blocks incurred by characters
(negative skill levels).  If the descriptions seem hard to
differentiate its because its true.  The SOC SCI subskills tend
to overlap.  This skill is strongly assoiciated to the culture and it
is limited by the tech level.

SPEAK/READ/WRITE OTHER LANGUAGE.
Subskills: Not considering XENO skills other languages in COSMOS
are all ancient homeworld tongues.
Skill associations:  Character cannot have S O L higher than ORATORY.
Character cannot have W O L higher than WRITING.
Adv mod: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mod: INT 6- = -1, EDU 5- = -1.
     There could be from 16 to 21 old languages (depending on the source) from
the 4 League homeworlds. S O L and W O L start one level lower than R O L.
The skill is strongly associated to culture.  It is limited by tech level.

STEALTH.
Subskills: are numerous, some examples are MOVE SILENTLY, MOVE WITH
BALANCE, MOVE THROUGH OBSTACLE.
Skill associations: @ STEALTH-2 gain ATHLETIC-0, @ STEALTH-3 must have
ATHLETIC-1.
Adv mod: DEX A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1.
Disadv Mod: DEX 6- = -1, for each 2 ps < 6 = -1.
The skill is strongly associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

STEWARD.
Subskills: CONCIERGE.
Skill associations: STEWARD is somewhat like a JOT.  At each level from
zero choose a new LEVEL-0 skill from: ACTING, ARTS OF LOVE, DIPLOMACY,
MUSIC, ORATORY, POETRY or STORYTELLING.  @ STEWARD-2 must have 2
associated skills at LEVEL-1, @ STEWARD-2+n must have 2+n associated
skills at LEVEL-1 (until the list is exhausted).
Adv mods: INT C(12)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > C = +1, EDU C(12)+ = +1,
for each 4 pts > = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 5- = -1, EDU 5- = -1, SOC 5- = -1.
The skill is strongly associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

STORYTELLING.
Skill associations: @ STORY-T 2 gain WRITING-0 and ORATORY-0, @ STORY-T 3
must have ORATORY-1, @ STORY-T 4 must have WRITING-1.
Adv mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1, EDU C(12) = +1, for each
4 pts > C = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 5- = -1, EDU 5- = -1
The skill is strongly associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

STREETWISE.
Skill associations: @ STREET-2 gain PERC-0, @ STREET-3 must have PERC-1.
Adv mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > A = +1, SOC 6- = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 5- = -1, SOC A(10)+ = +1.
     The skill includes the ability to find/avoid/recognize things/
people/buildings in an urban or spaceport environment.  It also includes
the ability to recognize "street jargon".
The skill is strongly associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

SURVIVAL.
Subskills: (by environment) ALIEN, ARCTIC, DESERT, JUNGLE, MARINE,
FORREST, STEPPE, LOW ATMOSPHERE.
Adv mods: INT A(10)+ = +1 for each 5 pts > A = +1, EDU E(14)+ = +1,
for each 4 pts > E = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 6- = -1.
The skill is moderately associated to culture.  It is limited by tech level.

SWIMMING.
Skill associations: SWIM is considered a subskill of ATHLETICS.
Subskills: DIVING is considered a subskill of swimming
Adv mods: DEX A(10)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > A = +1, STR A(10)+ = +1,
for each 4 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mods: DEX 6- = -1, STR 6- = -1.
     Any character with either military background or police background
has SWIMMING-1.  SWIM unless otherwise specified means swimming for
distance rather than speed.
This skill is not limited by tech level and is associated to cultural 
background.

TACTICS.
Subskills: SHIPS TACTICS, TACTICAL GAMING
Adv mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > 9 = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 6- = -1.
     TACTICS in personal combat allows the character to protect one body
location for each successful usage during the combat round.  It also
includes less tangible advantages effecting group movement.
This skill is limited by tech level and is associated to cultural 
background.


URBAN CAMOUFLAGE.
Skill associations: @ URBAN CAMO-2 gain STREETWISE-0, @ URBAN CAMO-3
must have STREETWISE-1.
Advantage Mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > A = +1, SOC 6- =
+1.
Disadv mods: INT 5- =-1, SOC A+ -1.
The skill is associated to culture.  It is not limited by tech level.

VACC SUIT.
Subskills: BATTLE DRESS
Adv mods: DEX A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mods: DEX 6- = -1.
This skill is weakly associated to culture and is limited by tech level.  
The skill does not exist below tech level 7.

VEHICLE.
Subskills: numerous
Adv mods: DEX A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mods: DEX 6- = -1.
This skill is moderately associated to culture and is limited by tech level.

WILDERNESS CAMOUFLAGE.
Subskills: COLD SPACE CAMOUFLAGE.
Adv mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 5- = -1.
     The skill is the ability to hide objects in an non-urban environment.
It is limited by culture amd is not limited by tech level.

WILDERNESS TRACKING.
Adv mods: INT A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 6- = -1.
It is limited by culture amd is not limited by tech level.

WRITING.
Subskills: JOURNALISM, FICTION, NON-FICTION.
Adv mods: INT 9+ = +1, for each 5 pts > 9 = +1, EDU E(14) = +1, for
each 5 pts > E = +1, SOC 4- = +1.
Disadv: INT 5- = -1, EDU 4- = -1.
It is limited by culture amd is not limited by tech level.

XENO CONTACT.
Skill associations: @ XENO-CON-2 gain LING-0, @ XENO-CON-3 gain SOC
DYMN-0, must have LING-1, gain PSYCH-0, @ XENO-CON-4 must have SOC
DYMN-1 and PSYCH-1.
Adv mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1, EDU A(10)+ = +1,
for each 5 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mods: INT 6- = -1, EDU 5- = -1.
It is limited by culture amd is not limited by tech level.

XENO <species specific skill>.
Subskills: Species specific.
Skill associations: species skill specific.
     There are many possible XENO skills.  The more obvious are XENO
PSYCHOLOGY (including intelligent machines as an alien species), XENO
LINGUISTICS, even XENO ENGINEERING.  We assume for game purposes that
the alien species operates in the same time-space-energy continuum that
we do so the laws of physics should be the same.  Thus XENO PHYSICS
would be the same as PHYSICS.  However the alien may learn it in a
considerably different way.  There will be skills that one species can
easily understand  but never use because of a different biological
system (like FLY, PERCEPTION NIGHT VISION, PERCEPTION SMELL).  Then
there may be alien skills that have no equivalent in the home culture
at all.
It is limited by culture and is variably limited by tech level.

ZERO G COMBAT.
Skill associations: @ ZERO G CBT-1 gain VACC SUIT-0, @ ZERO G CBT-2
must have VACC SUIT-1.
Adv mods: DEX A(10)+ = +1, for each 5 pts > A = +1.
Disadv mods: DEX 6- = -1.
This skill is weakly associated to culture and is limited by tech level.
The skill does not exists below tech level 8.

ZOOLOGY.
Skill associations: ZOO is considered a subskill of BIO.
 Adv mods: INT D(13)+ = +1, for each 4 pts > D = +1.
Diasdv mods: INT 6- = -1.
This skill is weakly associated to culture and is limited by tech level.



-------- TML Message #412 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 412
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 89 12:14:53 EDT
From: (wilson m liaw) macgyver@cis.ohio-state.edu
Subject: MegaTraveller Errta



	HI, 
	   I just joined this mailing list. When I was looking
through the list of the old messages. I saw the MegaTraveller
Errta listed. Is that the offical copy from GDW/Digest? If not,
I got a copy from Joe Fugate Sr/Traveller's Digest, and I 
would be happy to post it.

	  Another thing, Digest Group is planning to release
MegaTraveller Aliens Source Book #1 this coming fall. Stay tune for 
more information.

			Mac
Wilson Mac Liaw                           $  Two sure ways to tell a sexy male;
Internet   : macgyver@cis.ohio-state.edu  $  the first is, he has a bad memory.
CompuServe : 71310,1653                   $  I forget the second :)
GEnie : W.Liaw                            $



-------- TML Message #413 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 413
From: (Be True to Your Song) baranski@yoda.enet.dec.COM
Date: 28 Jun 89 13:39
Subject: rocks vs. missles


You guys are comparing apples and oranges...

My point is that a mostly plastic basketball sized nuke drifting toward a
planet is going to be a hell of a lot harder to detect then a mile?  football
field? sized meteor, and a lot harder to hit.

Now, all other things being equal, the higher the velocity/accel the easier it
is to detect and the harder it is to deflect.  Assume an equivelent TL/effort
for defense.  If you want to start adding fancy TL equipment to the weapon, all
things being equal, the nuke still comes out ahead.  

At some point, you might as well be building ships.  The scale of operations
some of you are talking about, is an entire war.  Replace that operation with a
mass production of a thousand nukes, and see what comes out ahead.  Of course
at sufficient TL/effort the PBN becomes a sitting duck, and some of the more
exotic weapons mentioned come into play, but certainly not below TL 15.

Jim Baranski
DEC Tewksbury MA




-------- TML Message #414 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 414
Subject: Re: MegaTraveller Errata 
Date: 28 Jun 89 13:53:27 PDT (Wed)
From: jamesp



[Are the TML MT Errata genuine GDW items?]

I believe so, it is from Delphi and was placed there by Group Digest,
which has been ceded ultimate rules control power by GDW, and submitted
to this list by Mike Rossow.  It comes in two sets, dated 4/1/88 and
10/1/88.  Ask me for packages MT1 and MT2 if you want copies of it.
Mac, I'd be happy if you sent me the ones you have, and I'll compare
them to the ones I have, and if they're different I'll post the new
ones to the list.

[MT Aliens Source Book #1 coming this fall from Digest Group]

They're also past due on releasing the World Builder's book and another
which are the successors to Grand Census and Grand Survey.  Also GDW has
a Robots book for MegaTraveller due in November (heard this all at my
gaming shop).



-------- TML Message #415 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 415
From: (Steven J Owens) scratch@unix.cis.pittsburgh.edu
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 89 1:20:57 EDT
Subject: Cyberpunk in Traveller 2300 ??


Hello out there in that great electronic sea we call Usenet...

(Melodramatic, but it has a nice ring to it.)
 
I've heard from a few different sources that one of the Traveller 2300
books had some optional rules for Cyberpunk genre roleplaying.

(Just leaping right into it, aren't you?)

I've also heard that these rules, in general, suck.  Unfortunately,
that's ALL I've heard.  How about some input from somebody out there
who has a copy?

(Which means he's too cheap to go out and buy one for himself.)

I'm kind of curious to see how well Traveller and Cyberpunk would
mix.  I've always wanted to do something like this, since the issue
of the TASJ which had computer chip implants in the Ship's Locker.
I've also encouraged my present Cyberpunk GM to adopt a different
set of rules (Traveller, Twilight 2000, or possibly GURPS) for combat,
vehicles, etc., because the Cyberpunk rules are sadly lacking in that
area.  Hopefully he'll make a decision one of these days...
 
(Hopefully you'll stop bugging him one of these days.)
 
Till next time...

(Me too...)


Steven J. Owens  |  Scratch@PITTVMS  |  scratch@unix.cis.pittsburgh.edu

"Okay, Major Jonathan "Wrong-Is" Wright rubs his magic ring of Imperial
 Intervention and twenty stormtroopers wearing battledress and carrying
 gauss rifles pop out of the microwave oven..."
 
	- Sean T. Grape, in a truly bizarre traveller campaign...



-------- TML Message #416 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 416
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 89 13:56 EST
From: METLAY@vms.cis.pittsburgh.edu
Subject: various and sundry items of more or less interest




I'd like to thank everyone for the rousing welcome I've received. I was rather 
hoping to sneak in the back door and just stand quietly for a while, but it 
seems that I'll have no such luck. (Ah, fame.  |-> )

To answer some questions:

1. I have nothing to add to the miniatures discussion; I don't use them, 
myself.

2. When I dash off fast letters on the VMS mail system, the text is written to 
memory one line at a time. If I notice a typo on a previous line, there's no
way to undo the error. For longer messages (like this one), I use a text 
editor like any other normal humanoid.

3. I will naturally inform the List if and when I get my grubby paws on the 
full Imperial Atlas; and yes, I do run the Shattered Imperium stuff for my 
campaign. (I, like just about everyone else, had an IRIS-like organization 
screwing up game balance in my campaign LONG before the CHALLENGE articles.
|-> )

4. On wholesale nuclear devastation: doesn't anyone remember what happened to 
Ganulph?

5. To those of you who saw the Near Miss story on rec.games.frp, hold your 
noses... I'm going to rerun it for the benefit of those who hadn't seen it 
before. It's a trial draft for a book I hope to submit to Digest Group later 
this year. I'm open to suggestions on it; this is a more recent draft than the 
one that ran in the newsgroup, and it'll be revised several more times before
the Digest Group editorial staff sees it.

And now a question to the Group in general: how popular are the alien races 
for PCs in your campaigns, and which ones do people prefer? I'm partial to 
Vargr, myself, and every now and then I get the feeling that I'm the only one 
in the Orion Arm who runs them as anything other than greedy little cowards.
I have a friend who loves Hivers; he took naturally to the idea of 
manipulation. (Heeyucko.) And is anyone running Aslan for anything other than 
swift and merciless death?

hoping to hear from y'all soon....

metlay 		     METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET or metlay@vms.cis.pittsburgh.edu
				Xpander Users' Group: Email me for details.
Metlay say: "Guebj njnl lbhe qvtvgny flaguf. Ohl Kcnaqref. Qba'g jbefuvc Xngr
	     Ohfu, be nalbar jub ybbxf yvxr ure. GEHFG ZRGYNL!"




-------- TML Message #417 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 417
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 89 13:58 EST
From: METLAY@vms.cis.pittsburgh.edu
Subject: Traveller fiction piece: "Meet Near Miss"


(this is the latest draft of the intro piece for the "Near Miss" series of 
 adventures that ran at GenCons from 1984 to 1989. Hope you all like it.)


		MEET NEAR MISS: An introduction of sorts


	From MUSICA GALACTICA, the 104-1113 "Troubadors of Space" issue:

	"[...] Few of the touring music/vid/drama troupes, however, carry
quite the same impact as Near Miss, a band which until recently confined its
touring to the sectors Behind the Claw, but who recently crossed the Corridor
into the Imperium proper in an attempt to reach a wider audience. Near Miss
stands apart from groups like Albino Dream, Corpseshriek, Veedback, and
Orgasmic Plateau in so many ways, it is almost not worthwhile to mention them 
in the same article as the others; but that, being an inexcusable insult in 
the face of their talents, is not permissible either, so we must apologize to 
the Shriekers and Veedheads and step into a cleaner, more polished spotlight 
for a while.
	"Most of the troubador bands have a small, tight lineup, with Albino
Dream's six members considered quite a large number. They stick exclusively 
to a set musical style, and vary from it only slowly and with great care so as 
not to chance losing their vast and potentially fickle audiences. And, due to 
the uniquely human love of such art forms, they tend to be all human in makeup 
and to attract a predominantly human audience. Near Miss violates every one of 
these hard and fast rules in its tenure as a frighteningly eclectic eight-piece 
ensemble of humans and nonhumans alike. Nobody can tell precisely what they'll 
play next, and in their home territory they are as much beloved of Vargr and 
Aslan audiences as they are of human crowds. There are few, if any, automated 
sequences in their music, and they pride themselves on the total spontaneity 
of live performance, succeeding or failing on their own merits from night to 
night and leaving nothing to the cold clutches of the mechanized musician. The 
playlist for a Near Miss concert can range from Vargr moonhowls to Aslan fury
marches to Solomani rock and roll to Vilani shidagga, and all are played with 
an irreverent enthusiasm that's as infectious as it is disarming. While 
they've not yet begun to attract the huge crowds that flock to Veedback shows, 
they nevertheless have a loyal following on many worlds, ranging in age from 
nine to ninety and in musical taste from ancient classical to modern
slashnoise. And perhaps most bizarre of all is their lifestyle: rather than
the usual one-night-to-a-groupie flings, they live sedately in an almost
familial closeness, and each of them is happily married...to another band
member(!). 
	"Clearly, this band stands out as unusual in the troubador genre; 
their music polished, their personal lives quiet, their style truly unique."

*****

>From the private archives of the above article's writer: also dated 104-1113

	"I was lucky enough to secure an interview with the band just after a 
successful series of concerts on Guranthu, while they awaited fueling for 
their tour ship, the Peggisu. They were oddly reticent about some questions, 
effusive about others, and generally seemed willing only to add to the sense 
of mystery that surrounds them. While their real names are a matter of record, 
they prefer their stage nicknames when dealing with the press, so that's what 
I agreed to use here. 
	"Captain Crisis, or CC as he likes to be called, is the band's leader 
and front man, playing keyboards in the old Solomani style and lending the 
band its best-known voice. His wife, known as Windy, plays various wind 
instruments as well as the Terran sixwire ghitar. Although she'd normally be
considered quite old for a rock goddess, she carries herself like a teenager,
acting younger in some ways than Torch, the young vidtech whose light shows
and vids form an integral part of the show. Torch is actually the youngest
member of the band, barely half the age of her husband Docshock, who handles
the live sound for the group's concerts as well as producing their albums. The
other four members of the band are the nonhumans: two Aslan and two Vargr,
both pairs about as uncharacteristic of their races as one could imagine. Hug,
the huge furydrummer, resembles a stuffed tiger toy more than a fierce Aslan
warrior in his demeanor, and his lady Fuse seems to grant him a good deal more
free rein than most Aslan wives. As for the Vargr, well, Tinker and Motormutt
appear to be fighting to some degree or another virtually all the time,
creating a tension that they carry on stage in their fierce duels on badaan
and suerzkfuerrghz. The flareups added to the high sense of nervousness in the
band's demeanor at what would normally be a routine interview.... 

MUSICA GALACTICA: "Thanks very much for granting this interview."

[Various polite noises of assent; Motormutt yawns widely and is cuffed on
the ear by Tinker, who begins to snarl at him in some Vargr dialect, perhaps
Arrghoun or Gvegh. The argument carries on in the background of the first few
minutes of the interview.]

CC: "Don't mind them. Tinker's angry 'cause Motormutt stepped on her solo 
tonight. She's real touchy about that; badaan players don't solo often."

MG: "It seems that you make it a point to give everyone plenty of room...."

CC: "You have to, with this bunch. Have you ever awakened with somebody's 
wounded artistic sensibilities sticking out from between your shoulder bl-- 
OW!" [There is a pause. CC glares at Windy, who glares back.] Sorry. My bad 
knee's acting up. As I was saying, this bunch is too damned dangerous for me 
to stiff out of a solo--OW! DAMN IT!" [Windy's glare is now hot enough to melt 
a jump coil. CC looks at her and continues, a bit more subdued.] Sorry. What I 
mean is..." [he looks at Windy, who now appears to be ignoring him]"...is 
that we have to travel and work together day in and day out, and rarely get a 
vacation from each other's company, so it's important to give anyone plenty of 
room so they don't feel stifled." [a menacing look at Windy] "Wouldn't you 
agree, sweetheart?"

WINDY [sweetly]: "My sentiments exactly, love."

MG: "Are there ever battle lines drawn among the band members? I mean, there 
are an awful lot of ways you all could be polarized over an issue: by race, by 
age, even by sex."

MOTORMUTT: "Nobody fights about sex, young lady. Not in this crowd." [I wince
involuntarily, expecting another blowup from Tinker, but she seems quite
content to gently lick the outside of her mate's ear.] "I've been living among
shavetails long enough to know a pretty one from an ugly one, and our two are
among the prettiest..." [Torch giggles at this, and Windy blows Motormutt a
kiss]"...but shavetail women aren't for me. This one [He flicks an ear at
Tinker] is my only travelling companion and I'm hers, and every gig takes us
further and further away from any choice in the matter. We fight about anything
and everything, including her stupid badaan sol--kyai!" [Tinker has fastened
her teeth into his ear. He winces but continues gamely.] "...stupid badaan
solos, but never about sex...ki...yi..." [I leave him to extricate his ear from
his mate's teeth.] 

MG: "That isn't precisely what I meant...."

WINDY: "Oh, he knows, kid, he's just being difficult. As a matter of fact, we 
tend to polarize along sex lines a lot, but that has more to do with the 
band's lineup than anything else."

MG: "Ah! Because the women always have front stage?"

WINDY: "Mm-hm. It's good staging practice to have all of the melody
instruments out front, and in this band that means the stuff the ladies play. 
Since CC usually only does background stuff, he stays back in the rhythm 
section with Hug and 'Mutt, and we have to be careful not to hog the 
limelight...they're working harder than we are, and don't get any credit."

TINKER: "It's good for them. Keeps them in their place. Behind us, that is."
[Motormutt was able to retrieve his ear at last when she opened her mouth to 
speak; he now keeps his ears folded flat against further attacks.]

MG: "Tinker, why the badaan? That's a human instrument, isn't it?"

TINKER: "Yes, it's of pre-Rule of Man Suerrat extraction. It's normally used
as a drone instrument for string ensembles, but Vargr have always loved its
sound, even alone. It's all the low frequency stuff..." [her ears twitch] "It
seems to work directly on the brain. And when you amplify it, it's just
unbelievable. I originally started out on what the Solomani call a base
ghitar, because it was easier to amplify, but the badaan's range is so much
lower that there just wasn't any comparison." 

MG: "But don't Suerrat classicists consider an amplified badaan, well...?"

TINKER [with a half-barked laugh]: "Heretical? Kfaekh, yes! I've been nearly
lynched a couple of times by mobs after my pelt. They don't scare me, though;
after all I've been through--" [She is interrupted by Motormutt; a loud bark 
in Gvegh(?). She stares at him, then seems to relax, and finishes sheepishly]
"--what with touring for frontier audiences and all, I don't mind a few high-
port critics slinging skymelons at me."

MG: "Hug, you've been awfully quiet all this time. Don't you have anything to 
add?"

HUG: [His brow wrinkles in a very human attitude of deep thought; he tweaks a 
whisker, delicately sticks a finger into an ear to clean it, strokes his chin, 
and answers very quietly:] "Nope."

FUSE: [her voice is startling to the uninitiated, a perfect command of 
Galanglic mixed with a throaty purr] "Leave him be. He and I enjoy our places 
in the band, and the work we do with our friends. We have no interest in 
trying to formulate stimulating answers to your questions."

MG: "Not even how you manage to play a ghitar with your hands shaped like 
that?"

FUSE: "I play barre chords a lot. Now if you don't mind...."

MG: "Where does the nickname Fuse come from?"

[Fuse's ears flatten back against her skull and her eyes narrow to slits]

FUSE: "I have a short temper!"

MG: "Oh. [pause] Um, Torch! Torch, do you ever feel slighted at the lack of 
attention given you as a non-musician member of the band?"

TORCH: [brightly] "Oh, no! Everyone's just so nice to one another, no ego 
problems or star complexes, I never feel bad about being a vidtech. If I did, 
they'd be doing it in the dark a lot more often." [There is a roar of laughter 
from the humans and Vargr, and even Hug and Fuse hiss slightly. Torch turns 
red to the ears and sits a bit closer to Docshock. He speaks, his voice almost
sepulchural in quality.] 

DOCSHOCK: "What she means is that it's hard to be unhappy with your lot when 
you're in control of the entire show. She and I are the puppet masters, pulling 
the strings. No sound, no light, no concert." [a wintry smile] "Besides, we
do get on stage every now and again. About the only one who doesn't is George."

MG: "George? Who's George?"

CC: "He's our head of security and chief bouncer. He keeps us safe from the 
rowdies." [he raises his voice] "Hey, George!"

[The door slides open. I look up, and see no one. Then, looking down at the 
sound of tiny footsteps, I see a Droyne Sport walking in from the bedrooms;
he has a backstage pass around his neck and a belt with a com unit.]

CC: "George, say hello to the nice reporter."

GEORGE: [in a reedy squeak] "Hello to the nice reporter." [We shake hands.]

MG: "George, what do you really do?"

GEORGE: [proudly] "Head of Security Ops. What humans call a 'bouncer'."

MG: "You're kidding! You're the one in charge of protecting...him?" [I point 
at Hug, who grabs my hand and half pulls my arm out of its socket.]

HUG: [dangerously quietly] "George is my friend."

GEORGE: "Let her go, Hug. She's no different than anyone else who sees me for 
the first time. Yes, miss, I am. And I'm good at my job. Have you ever heard of
the band being attacked or harassed in the past three years?"

MG: "Well, no..."

GEORGE: [smugly] "Well, there's my record. I'm krinaytsyuni; nobody can
threaten a Droyne who's already dead." 

MG: "...Dead?"

TORCH: [quickly] "He means, ritually dead. He was suicidal before we convinced 
him to join us. He'd lost his tyafelm, his family group, and was all alone; we 
took him in, and now we're his kroyloss, his fraternity, sorta."

CC: "I wouldn't trade him in for a dozen Imperial Marines in full armor."
[George's tiny chest swells with pride at that.] "He's the best--" [He is 
interrupted by a beep from George's com unit. George tunes in the unit, 
chitters a few words in Oynprith, listens intently, then speaks to CC]

GEORGE: "Sir, Baskerville reports a theft at the theatre. Someone's made off 
with the gate for the concerts!"

[The reaction from the others is startling. Each and every band member is out 
of his or her chair in an instant, heading for the door to the motel suite 
bedrooms. For a brief moment I am reminded of the cool precision of a crack 
military unit. Then, almost at once, they remember me, stumble to a halt at
the doorway, and turn back to look at me. There is a long pause, then---]

CC: "Excuse us. We have to, um, call the police."

TINKER: "And our lawyers."

DOCSHOCK: "The insurance company...."

MOTORMUTT: "Theatre security--just to see what's going on, y'know--"

WINDY: "And our sponsors. Excuse us." [They file out through the door, closing 
it behind them]

	"My experiences from the rest of the evening were quite strange. Not 
having been dismissed, I elected to wait a while and see if they came back. 
After a few minutes of muffled activity from beyond the door, there was 
silence. I waited a few more minutes, then heard movement again beyond the 
door. I knocked, and was greeted by a small utility robot, who told me that 
cleanup of the motel suite was underway, and would I please leave now? I 
glanced beyond the robot; the suites were in a shambles of scattered linens 
and towels, and there was no sign of Near Miss. Or their luggage, for that
matter. Fuming at being abandoned without even a goodbye, I allowed myself to 
be escorted to the door by the cleanup robot. It wasn't until I got to the
elevator that I realized that there was only one exit from the room! I went
back and knocked, first quietly, then loudly. There was no answer. I pounded
the door and called; still nothing. Finally, I went down to the lobby; the
desk clerk informed me tersely that the band had checked out, and returned to
watching the special bulletin playing on the newsvid. My gaze wandered to the
vid, and was caught there. It was a news report of a bloody gunbattle in the
city center between a gang of thieves who'd robbed the theatre not half an
hour before, and an unknown group of mercenaries bent on getting the money
back. Their identity was a mystery; they attacked the barricaded thieves in a
frontal assault via air/raft, and 


	There was the click of a gun's hammer being cocked. I lifted my hands
from the keyboard, slowly turning in my chair. There was the revolver,
pointing straight at my face. And on the other end was Tinker, dressed in a
black coverall with a number of patched bullet holes. After what I'd seen on
the news vid, I wasn't surprised. Not one bit. 
	"We've seen enough, shavetail," Tinker said quietly. "Get out of the 
chair." As I did so, the door to the living room opened, and Fuse's
head peeked in through the crack. "Living room all clear," she whispered.
	"Bedroom's empty too," came another quiet voice. I turned my head 
to look; it was Torch, holding the biggest pistol I'd ever seen in my 
life in one hand... and a pair of men's briefs in the other. Oh God, I thought
sickly. Torch walked up to me and waved the briefs under my nose. "Where is
he?" 
	"He--he's not here tonight, I swear! He just left his dirty laundry,
he stays over once or twice a week, please don't hurt him, please...." My
voice shook, and my knees wobbled; Torch pushed me back into my chair. I
closed my eyes to hold back the tears, and felt rather than saw the weapon's
huge muzzle against my forehead. Torch's voice somehow wasn't cute any more.
	"I said, where is he?"
	"Not here." It was Windy's voice, cool and authoritative. "Open your 
eyes, kid; we're not going to kill you. Not yet. Maybe not at all." The cold
pressure left my forehead. I opened my eyes. Windy was there with Torch, 
Tinker and Fuse; the whole sexy lineup, a ghastly parody in black. There was a 
gun in Windy's hand, a front-loading 9mm Scout survival pistol with a scope 
and shoulder stock attached. As I watched numbly, Windy pulled a small 
silencer from her belt and screwed it onto the barrel. She pointed the gun at 
my sweat-beaded forehead. The others put their weapons away. There was no
longer a need for them, it seemed; the one silent bullet in the scout pistol
was all they needed. 
	I forced composure into my voice. "What do you want?"
	Windy's voice, still cool, held the trace of a smile. "Kill the story.
At least the gnarly parts."
	"Why should I?" I was determined not to die like a coward, if I
had to die at all. "The truth's the truth! Do you know what a story this is?
'ROCK BAND DOUBLES AS MERCENARY UNIT!' It would make my career!"
	"And ruin ours." Fuse's voice was an angry hiss. Her hand slowly 
reached inside her jumpsuit and remained there. "Do you think we want to be
known as 'the band that bathes in blood?' That's why we left the Marches! No
more frontier wars, no more corsairs and petty warlords killing each other for
the scraps the Glorious Imperial Navy and the Zhodani leave behind when the
maps are redrawn...." 
	"No more hordes of morons drooling over the reality simulations," 
Tinker growled in assent. "Utovoghs? Oekhsos? Pfagh!" She spat.
	Torch nodded, her tiny face pale and drawn. "We've come into the main 
body of the Imperium just to leave the fighting behind. So many mercenary 
units pass through Guranthu on the way to Reaver's Deep that the police will 
never catch us."
	"Assuming nobody helps them, that is," Tinker snarled.
	Torch waved her into silence. "Can't you see? If you run that story,
we'll never be able to play another concert. We'll be ruined."
	"Then why'd you agree to the interview in the first place? You must 
have realized the risks...."
	"What risks?" Tinker sneered. "That there'd be action so close to the 
interview? Kfaekh, if that robbery hadn't taken place, you'd have just tossed
us off as another bunch of behind-the-claw weirdos who didn't interview well!"
	"The point is, the damage is done. Or rather, is ready to be done."
Torch looked me in the eyes. "We want you to promise us not to run the story."
	"And if I don't?"
	No one answered that. Windy merely cocked her pistol.
	"And what if I do promise? You'll leave, and ship offworld, and I
could just run it anyway." 
	"You wouldn't do that." Windy shook her head with a smile. "You've got
your reputation as a journalist to protect. Breaking a vow of confidentiality?
It doesn't matter how good the story was; you'd divebomb your own career."
	"Besides," Fuse said mildly, "You'd only prolong your life until the 
news reached us...and next time it might not be as clean as a bullet to the 
head." Almost casually, she pulled her hand from her jumper and opened it 
before my eyes, showing me what she was holding. I couldn't help it-- I
screamed blue murder. Windy's pistol cracked me across the mouth, cutting off
my cries. She stuck the gun under my nose and held my chin still with one
strong hand. I thought I could smell the bullet waiting for me. 
	As long as I live, I will never forget the next words Windy said. She
was as matter-of-fact as if she were discussing whether or not to pursue a 
questionable stock deal, or perhaps to squash a harmless but annoying insect. 
	"We're through asking. You're only getting one chance. Yes or no?" 
	The silence stretched for what seemed like hours. I thought about 
life, death, bloodshed, remembered the horrible scenes on the vid, the thieves
mowed down as they tried to escape, the screams of the crowd-- and then the 
screams changed to something else. Not screams of terror, but screams of joy 
and adulation, the earsplitting shrieks of kids having more fun than Mom and 
Dad would ever allow, if they only knew. The concert! The crowds dancing in 
the aisles, the people clapping their hands and singing along to the parts 
they knew, no harm done, just fun, just music... and the musicians. There they 
were, bathed in the lasers and the spotlights, sweating with the effort, 
driving rhythm and screaming melody in the light, smiles on every face. They 
were free... alone with each other, alone with their fans, free for a while 
from cares, from worries about what lay ahead on the long starlit road, free
from...from what? I'd wondered about that for a long time, watching them up
there. Now I knew, and it made my decision for me. 
	I wasn't ready to die after all. "I...agree. Yes. I'll kill it."
	For a brief moment, I wasn't sure I'd made the right choice. What 
happened next banished my doubts. The tension in the room vanished like smoke 
in the wind. Windy lowered the pistol and dropped the hammer, Fuse's hand 
(don't think about it) went back into her jumper, Tinker released her breath 
in a whoosh as Torch gave me that bright smile again. They trusted me. God 
knows why, but they did. 
	"Thank you. There's been enough killing for one day." Torch's voice 
held none of the bravado of the previous minute. They filed into the dining
room. The dining room? At the door, Windy turned to me and spoke: 
	"Remember to keep your promise." The cold half smile. "We keep ours."
And then she was gone. I was frozen for a long moment. Then I leaped from my 
chair and ran to the dining room.
	Of course! The balcony door was unlocked; after all, who'd come in on
the 300th floor? And there it was: the gleaming black air/raft with the
traditional trimmings of a hearse, Motormutt at the controls, Docshock and Hug
scanning the skies and the street below for pursuit, a black flutter of bionic
wings that had to be George, and at the center of it all, CC lounging in the
passenger seat, gauss pistol in hand and smiling like he hadn't a care in the
world. The last lady climbed aboard, oblivious to the thousand-meter drop
below, and the raft pulled away from the building. CC waved, a light goodbye,
and the raft heeled over and was gone like a wraith in the night. 
	There was someone pounding on the door. "Miss! Miss! I heard a scream! 
Are you all right?"
	"Coming..." I managed. I touched the bruise on my mouth as I walked
to the door. I decided I'd fallen and cracked my chin against the desk. And on
my way there, I stopped to archive and delete the article. After all, a
promise was a promise, and besides, maybe being worthy of Near Miss's trust
wasn't such a bad thing after all. 


- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[this story and all information in it are copyrighted 1984,1989 metlay]




-------- TML Message #418 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 418
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 89 16:51:53 EDT
From: (Edward J Driscoll) ejd@caen.engin.umich.edu
Subject: Shattered Imperium campaigns



In response to Bob Mahoney's query:
> As an aside, I never received any answers to my earlier question:
> Is anyone else using the GDW "Shattered Imperium" campaign background?

I thought that the "Shattered Imperium" background was THE most
valuable aspect of MegaTraveller.  I used to have a tough time
coming up with plots for my Traveller campaign, but the
Shattered Imperium is just spilling over with them.   My
campaigns tend to be based on roughly equal portions of
military, political, and economic intrigue -- the SI setting
is conducive to all of these things.

I am currently in the process of setting up my first SI
campaign.  The campaign will take place in the Spinward
Marches, where Lucan and Norris are duking it out for 
support of the citizenry.  Lurking in the background, an
alien race with expanionist tendencies has recently entered
through an ancient technological artifact (a jump gate of
sorts -- similar but not identical to the one described
in previous TML articles) and is preparing for a covert
invasion....

The only player (at this point) is a pirate character, and
most of the adentures will be tailored with this in mind.

What follows is a rough, unedited set of notes that I
have been using to flesh out the major players and
plotlines.  It may contain inconsistencies and hazy
areas, and should be treated as raw material.  I offer
it as an example of what a Shattered Imperium campaign
might be like.

One last note:  I strongly recommend "The Rebellion
Sourcebook" supplement for anyone trying to run an SI
campaign.  It contains a wealth of material about who
is doing what to whom in the struggle for inter-galactic
power.  It is virtually free of game mechanics and could
be used in other game systems (old Traveller certainly).

- -----------------------8<----cut here---------------------


Notes on Trav Campaign
- ----------------------

- - The thrust of the campaign is the presence of aliens in the
Spinward Marches.

- - The aliens got there through a jump gate, the location (and
in fact, the very existence) of which is unknown.  The gate
may be a two-way device.  If not, there will exist another gate
which leads to the aliens' home part of the universe.

- - There are several races of aliens which tend to serve very
specialized roles/classes.  There is at least a warrior class,
a worker class, and a leader class.  Each of the classes exceeds
the average human in their particular capacity but are inferior
in other capacities.

- - The aliens are in possession of some extremely advanced
technology (including the jump gates, some starships, weapons,
machinery, etc) -- but they didn't invent it.  They don't
even understand it completely, although there is a scientist-like
class which devotes almost all of its time to discovering the
secrets of the technology.

- - The technology was actually created by yet another highly
advanced race which is for the most part extinct.  The reason
for this extinction is as yet undetermined.

- - The aliens are extremely expansionist and war-like.  They
aren't inherently evil, but for centuries they have been at
odds with each other over various and sundry issues, not the
least of which is the possession of property (or lack thereof).
The discovery of the gate and the human race has given them
a new alien to conquer and a reason to temporarily join forces.
Of course, each race sees itself in the dominant role both during
and after the conquest -- cooperation is still not exactly their
strong suit.

- - No one knows about the aliens yet, but their effects have
been felt and a very few of those in the know are aware that
SOMETHING is out of place.  Particularly, Norris and Lucan have
both lost warships to encounters with the aliens.  Each suspects
that the other is somehow involved.

- - Lucan and Norris are maintaining the outward appearance of
cooperation and negotiation, but it's strictly diplomatic
maneuvers. 

- - What Lucan really wants is for Norris to buckle
under, for Noris's considerable forces to fall in line with 
Lucan, and for Norris himself to be replaced by a loyal Lucan
supporter.  Lucan isn't trying an outright assault because
it would consume a considerable amount of his
resources to engage Norris's forces, and Norris's forces
are too loyal to provide any assistance of their own to Lucan.
Such an assault would have political as well as military costs
because the people of Norris's domain are highly loyal.  Despite 
the fact that Norris professes loyalty to the Empire, Lucan
does not wish to force them to choose between Norris and himself,
for Norris is a more charismatic leader and has greater presence
in their daily lives.  Lucan's plan is to strategically apply 
covert military pressure and try to force Norris to make the
first outwardly aggressive move.  If Norris makes enough visible
moves against Lucan, Lucan can portray him as anti-imperial and
wage a stronger political campaign on those grounds.  One of
Lucan's ploys in this vein is to try and appoint highly charismatic
officials in Norris's arena of control in order to counter
Norris's own charisma.  Of course, they are basically figureheads,
and the real power is in the hands of a small group of Lucan's
real lieutenants who are considerably less charismatic.  This
combination of charismatic figureheads and brutal power holders
tends to severely tax the loyalty of Lucan's forces, which is
yet another reason why an outright military assault would be a
costly move for him.

- - What Norris really wants is for Lucan to give in and leave
him alone.  Norris believes that Strephon is still alive,
and that Lucan is a sorry replacement.  Norris keeps a tight
reign on his political image and power.  He intends that the
citizens should eventually feel more loyal to him personally than
to the empire.  When the time is right, he will transfer this
support to Strephon.  Until then, he wants to keep it out of
Lucan's hands.  When the news of the assassination reached Norris's
domain, it was politically necessary for Norris to claim to
support the empire without claiming support for any particular
claimant of the throne.  If he had done otherwise, it would appear
that he was yet another pretender, and not a strong one at that.
In this way, he was able to hold onto the loyalty of the citizenry
and at the same time gain some real political power of his own.
Norris is now trying to gently transform that loyalty directly
onto himself, but he has not progressed far enough to make an
outward attack on Lucan.  Such an attack would weaken his platform
of support for the Imperium visibly.  Although he would doubtless
maintain many of his supporters, he knows he would lose many to
Lucan's side.  Norris knows that Lucan is trying to provoke him
to make exactly such a mistake, and is carefully guarding his
actions to maintain the outward appearance of cooperation (much
to Lucan's consternation).  Norris takes advantage of any opportunity
to make Lucan look foolish or violent, and there have been many
such opportunities.  To date, Lucan's efforts to weaken Norris's
support have only made it stronger due to Norris's impressive
military and political savvy.  Norris does not want to side with
Strephon until the loyalty of his constituents is unshakable and
Strephon can gather enough military and political support of his
own to appear to be a suitably strong figure.

- - Contrary to the beliefs of Archduke Norris and the guarded hopes
of billions of citizens, Strephon is dead.  Dulinor killed him
on that fateful day in 1116.  The person claiming to be
Strephon is actually an actor who replaced him in routine diplomatic
functions when the need arose.  Secreted away by Strephon's closest
supporters, this actor has undergone surgery to make him as physically
indistinguishable from Strephon as possible and is constantly under the
advisement of the supporters who engineered the masquerade.  This
handful of men desires first that the Imperium be brought back
under control long enough to peacefully hand the reigns of power
down to a capable successor (certainly not Lucan) and second to
avenge the death of Strephon.  The "new" Strephon makes frequent
public appearances to gain support, but his private appearances
are avoided whenever humanly possible to prevent discovery that
he is not the real Strephon.  The engineers know that such a
discovery will irrevocably ruin not only their own lives, but
their hopes of restoring peace to the Imperium.  They guard
the secret with an appropriate amount of vigor.

- ---
Ed Driscoll
The University of Michigan
ejd@caen.engin.umich.edu



-------- TML Message #419 --------

Archive-Message-Number: 419
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 89 17:22 EST
From: METLAY@vms.cis.pittsburgh.edu
Subject: Going off the wall with Near Miss (a break from reality |-> )



Some folx have asked me if Near Miss is based on a real party of PCs from an 
old campaign. In fact, they aren't; they were all invented by me for the 
GenCon events, but over the past five years, people who return to play the 
same characters every year have gradually helped me flesh out the people 
behind the character sheets.
One thing that folx may be interested to know, though, is that Near Miss's 
music does in fact exist, and it's performed to an extent by myself and a 
small group of musicians here in Pittsburgh. We use synthesis, voice 
treatment, and sound processing to imitate the use of alien instruments, and 
our early experiments in this stuff aren't really publishable but show 
promise. In the meantime, for those of you in need of a small exercise in 
creative RPG visualization, I recommend the following:

1. Sit down (or stand up, if you're the dancing/air-guitar type) in a darkened 
room with a pair of headphones and a stereo setup.

2. Visualize the following: a large, open stage, almost devoid of clutter and 
tangled wires, in front of a large, raised platform covered with electronic 
junk. On the platform are two drum sets flanking a stack of electronic 
keyboards: one set is spartan and sparse, consisting of six or seven huge 
drums and nothing else, the other is a bewildering array of congas, cymbals, 
electronic pads, wood blocks, and a row of dried-out Vargr skulls arraanged by 
pitch. Behind the simpler drumset, place a seven-foot Aslan male with 
drumsticks the size of billy clubs in his hands; at the percussion array,
place a male Vargr in garish clothing. Place a human male, about 36 years of 
age, behind the keyboards. On the front stage, place three females: an Aslan
wrestling with an electric guitar, a Vargr plying something that looks like a 
fretless bass guitar with an impossibly long neck, and a human woman with an 
electric guitar or a saxophone (depending on your tastes). All are in their 
thirties, but still quite lovely by the standards of their respective races, 
and all are dressed in fashions that may well shock the close-minded. Give 
them all a lot of energy, and put a smile on every face; after all, they're 
playing music, which beats the heck out of merc work for making a living.

3. Put on the album REMAIN IN LIGHT by the Talking Heads (there are some 
better albums for the parallelism, but most are hopelessly obscure), and
drop the needle on the song "The Great Curve."

4. Turn the volume up as loudly as you can bear, start the song, and let your 
imagination go berserk.

Am I crazy? Perhaps. But two or three songs like this and DAMN I'm psyched for 
a good Traveller game! |->

metlay 		     METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET or metlay@vms.cis.pittsburgh.edu
				Xpander Users' Group: Email me for details.
Metlay say: "Guebj njnl lbhe qvtvgny flaguf. Ohl Kcnaqref. Qba'g jbefuvc Xngr
	     Ohfu, be nalbar jub ybbxf yvxr ure. GEHFG ZRGYNL!"



-------- End of TML Messages --------

